US stocksresident Bush said he would help struggling subprime mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure and with speculation rife about an interest rate cut next month after a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
All three major indexes rose more than 1 percent in thin trading before a long holiday weekend, with shares of financial services and energy companies leading the advance. Citigroup, the largest US bank, climbed 1.2 percent to $46.80, while energy companies were buoyed by a rise in crude oil prices to four-week highs.
Bernanke told a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the US central bank will take the necessary steps to shelter the economy from turmoil in financial markets - though he added the Fed will not bail out investors who made bad decisions.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 164.85 points, or 1.25 percent, at 13,403.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 19.56 points, or 1.34 percent, at 1,477.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 28.10 points, or 1.10 percent, at 2,593.40.
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