NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks soared Tuesday, the last day of April, as investors found some relief from recent selling pressure after an economic indicator showed that consumer confidence seems to have held up despite the downturn.

But the rally was only a strong end to a weak month. In April, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.5 percent; the Nasdaq composite gave up 8.5 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 6 percent.

On Tuesday, the Dow rose 126.35 to 9,946.22; it reached as high as 10,001.92, rising above 10,000 again after closing below that level the past two sessions.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 31.30 to 1,688.23, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 11.47 to 1,076.92.

On Wednesday, investors will take in a report on business activity from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). The ISM's gauge of manufacturing activity is expected to decline to 54.6 in April from 55.6 in March. However, any reading over 50 is still perceived as positive, as it shows expansion in the sector. A reading below 50 would indicate contraction.

In addition, Wednesday brings the quarterly report from online discount travel booker Priceline.com (PCLN: Research, Estimates). The company is expected to have earned 2 cents a share, up 166 percent from the 3 cent-per-share loss a year earlier.

"I think that today (Tuesday) is a technical bounce, but I do think that people are gonna start building a base. It's gonna be slow and steady. Now that we've gotten through most of the first-quarter earnings, people are looking to the next catalyst," Kenneth Polcari, managing director at Polcari/Weicker, told CNNfn's Street Sweep.

The Consumer Confidence Index for April, issued by the Conference Board, showed a smaller-than-expected drop to 108.8 from a revised reading of 110.7 in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting a drop to 107.5.

A regional measure of manufacturing strength from the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago declined a little more than expected. But the 54.7 reading still demonstrated expansion in the sector.

Market breadth was positive in very active trading. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers topped decliners 11-to-5 as 1.53 billion shares traded. On the Nasdaq, winners beat losers 3-to-2 as 2.05 billion shares changed hands.

"We're seeing a bounce off of oversold conditions," said Mike Farrell, head of asset allocation at David L. Babson. "It's also the end of the month, which is generally positive just with mutual fund changes."

Also offering some momentum, particularly to tech, was the resignation of WorldCom (WCOM: up $0.13 to $2.48, Research, Estimates) CEO Bernard Ebbers -- the culmination of nearly three years of declining stock prices for the long-distance phone service provider. The Securities and Exchange Commission is in the process of investigating WorldCom's finances and a $366 million personal loan the company made to Ebbers.

"Telecom is also strong today (Tuesday) and those have been the most oversold stocks," Farrell said.

Dow components SBC Communications (SBC: up $0.91 to $31.06, Research, Estimates) and AT&T, (T: up $0.26 to $13.12, Research, Estimates) as well as recently hard-hit names Nextel Communications (NXTL: up $0.13 to $5.51, Research, Estimates) and Lucent Technologies (LU: up $0.16 to $4.60, Research, Estimates), were among the stocks benefiting.

"The economic news helps, but I don't know if this is more than a short-covering rally," said Matt Ruane, director of listed trading at Gerard Klauer Mattison, referring to stock buying by those who had sold shares short. "If there was something more substantial that could sustain us for two or three days, I would be a believer, but I just don't see anything out there."

Dragging a little on the Nasdaq was drugmaker ICOS (ICOS: down $13.24 to $25.76, Research, Estimates), which sold off sharply after Eli Lilly (LLY: down $2.25 to $66.05, Research, Estimates) lowered its forecast for 2002 due to a delay in the launch of an anti-impotence drug the two companies are co-marketing.

Consumer products maker and Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG: up $0.26 to $90.26, Research, Estimates) posted a higher third-quarter profit that beat estimates and said that it expects fourth-quarter earnings per share growth of 10 percent.

Major stock indexes began the session at recent lows. The Dow was at its lowest point since mid-February, while the Nasdaq started at its lowest point since the middle of October.

"It's a breath of fresh air today (Tuesday), a relief rally. But it's nothing fundamental, it's nothing that's going to turn us around," said Jack Baker, head of equities at Putnam Lovell Securities. "We've been down seven out of eight sessions, so we were due for a rally."

Treasurys were higher, pushing the 10-year note yield down to 5.09 percent.

In international trade, European bourses recovered most early losses to close higher, while Asian stock markets closed mixed. The dollar was a little higher versus the yen and slightly lower against the euro. Light crude oil futures fell 28 cents to $27.29 in New York trade. Gold declined to $309.20 an ounce.