Friday's mid-afternoon trade: Wall Street gains on Bush plan

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.