The Dow Jones Industrial averages rocketed from steep losses in late trading yesterday, climbing out of bear territory, while the Nasdaq composite rallied on the strength of semiconductor issues.

The Dow was down 97.52 points, or 1.03 per cent, at 9,389.48, climbing up from an earlier low of 9,106.54 in the closing minutes of trading. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, leaped 67.47 points, or 3.69 per cent, to 1,897.70.

The late rally reversed a global tumble in markets that saw indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt fall to their lowest levels for years. Earlier, the Dow fell into bear territory, defined as 20 per cent down from the all-time high of 11,722.98 on January 14th, 2000.