The Dow and the S&P 500 rose on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments increased expectations for an interest-rate cut, but Dell Inc's disappointing outlook dragged on the Nasdaq.
A report that the US Treasury will soon unveil a plan to help stem the subprime mortgage crisis also buoyed sentiment, with shares of mortgage-related companies and banks among the session's biggest winners.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, the No 3 US bank, featured among the standouts on both the Dow and the S&P 500, with a gain of more than 4 percent. Shares of No 1 US bank Citigroup Inc and those of Bank of America Corp, the No 2 US bank, each rose more than 4 percent, while those of Countrywide Financial Corp, the nation's largest mortgage lender, gained more than 20 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 61.61 points, or 0.46 percent, at 13,373.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 11.01 points, or 0.75 percent, at 1,480.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down just 0.76 of a point, or 0.03 percent, at 2,667.37.Earlier the indexes had been much higher, and at one time the Dow's advance had the blue chip index eyeing its biggest weekly advance since March before backing off its highs as technology shares capped the broader market.
On a monthly basis, the S&P 500 still appeared on course for its worst monthly slide in five years despite the rebound of the last three sessions. Shares of Dell, the No 2 computer maker, notched their biggest tumble in seven years, falling more than 13 percent to $24.32. RIM shares lost 6 percent to $114.81, while Apple shares declined 1.1 percent to $182.35.