US stocks rose on Thursday as inflation data suggesting the Federal Reserve will not hurry to raise interest rates encouraged investors and oil prices slipped as some refineries restarted after Hurricane Ivan.
Shares of Nortel Networks Corp. fell more than 7 percent as a revenue warning from the telecommunications equipment company compounded worry about corporate profits. Office Depot Inc. rose after the retailer said it will buy back $500 million of its shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.60 points, or 0.23 percent, at 10,254.96 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.65 points, or 0.24 percent, at 1,123.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.97 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,904.49.