New York ? Investors responded to the end of war in Iraq by going shopping … for stocks, that is. Compared with the first quarter, when many investors stuck to the sidelines amid worries of a drawn-out conflict, the Iraq war’s swift end brought renewed confidence to battered markets.

Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the broader-based Standard and Poor’s 500 index experienced second-quarter gains in the teens. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index showed off its renewed vigor by rising more than 20 percent.

Every sector enjoyed the broad-based second quarter rally, according to analysis by Media General Financial Services Inc. Advancers led decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by better than a 10-1 margin; on the Nasdaq, the ratio was more than 6-to-1. More than 2,500 U.S. stocks reached new 52-week highs, compared with fewer than 500 reaching new yearly lows.

Two sectors synonymous with the go-go ’90s led the rally — Internet and telecom stocks. Both sectors saw gains of more than 30 percent during the April-June period, with Internet stocks adding to the first quarter’s impressive gains. Net stocks are up more than 50 percent so far in 2003.