NEW YORK – Stocks surged yesterday as bargain hunters returned to help Wall Street rebound from one of its worst weeks ever. The market remained extremely nervous, and no one was betting that the early gains would hold.

Monday’s gainers were spread across nearly all market sectors, an indication that cheaper prices lured buyers to the market rather than lessening fears about how the United States will retaliate for the attacks and how long the economy will suffer. Even a

irline stocks were higher.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 340.51, or 4.1 percent, at 8,576.32 after dropping 1,369.70 last week, its biggest-ever weekly point decline.

The market’s broader indicators were higher after falling last week, along with the Dow, to their lowest levels in three years. The Nasdaq composite index rose 73.77, or 5.2 percent, to 1,496.96, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 36.32, or 3.

8 percent, at 1,002.12.

With much uncertainty after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, analysts said the rally could be short-lived. They also said technical factors were likely influencing trading. On Friday, investors rushed to sell shares, wanting to reduce their exposure to sto

cks over the weekend not knowing if or how the U.S. might respond to the attacks.

“Last week, there was kind of a panicky aspect, a throwing in of the towel. I think there is a realization that the lower prices have taken into account a lot of the bad stuff,” said Charles Pradilla, chief investment strategist at SG Cowen. “That is not

to say that there won’t be more pain. … We will continue to vacillate around.”

Airline stocks, which fell sharply because hijacked commercial planes were used in the attacks, rose on a $15 billion government aid package announced over the weekend. The sector was one of the weakest last week as major U.S. airlines reduced flight sche

dules, and laid off thousands of workers.

AMR, the parent of American Airlines, rose 96 cents to $18.86, while Delta gained $1.61 to $24.08.

Wall Street also drew some support from overseas markets. London’s FT-SE 100 index was up 4.1 percent, Frankfurt’s DAX index rose 5.9 percent, and France’s CAC-40 closed up 5.7 percent. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.