Stocks gains firm up

Tentative, early stock gains in New York became firmer in early afternoon trading on Wall Street. After a gain of 8.14 percent in the first quarter, the Dow Jones industrial average started slow Monday. By early afternoon trading, gains reached 69.70 points to 13,281.74, up 0.53 percent. The Nasdaq composite index added 25.68 points, to 3,117.25, up 0.83 percent. The Standard and Poor\'s 500 index picked up 11.70 points to 1,420.27, a 0.83 percent gain. The 10-year treasury note was yielding 2.181 percent as prices rose 8/32. The euro was 1.3322 from Friday\'s $1.3343. Against the yen, the dollar was 82.14 from Friday\'s 82.82. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.26 percent, 26.31 points, to 10,109.87. In London, the FTSE 100 index added 1.85 percent, 106.44, to 5,874.89.