Bulls make it 3 in row

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Major gauges recouped late session losses to finish higher for the third straight session Wednesday as stocks got a lift from the tech and housing sectors and cooling credit market fears.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 79.91 to 13,584.21, Charts) finished up 153 points higher, or 1.14 percent, based on early tallies after turning flat in the final half hour of trade.

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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index (up 47.85 to 2,609.45, Charts) was the big winner, however, gaining 2 percent, while the broader S&P 500 (up 19.32 to 1,496.03, Charts) climbed 1.4 percent.

Treasury prices slumped as investors poured into the stock market, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.86 percent, up from 4.77 percent late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices retreated on a surprise decline in gasoline inventories in the weekly U.S. inventory report. U.S. light crude for September delivery fell 22 cents to $72.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar edged lower against the euro and climbed versus the yen. COMEX gold for December climbed $4 to $686.30 an ounce.

Here's what was moving before the close:

Stocks got a lift at the start of Wednesday's session from the tech sector as Cisco Systems (Charts, Fortune 500) reported higher-than-expected earnings late Tuesday, sending shares of the computer networking company 8 percent higher.

A day after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at its policy meeting, President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the economy remains healthy, although Paulson noted in that it will take some time to work through the housing market correction.

Stocks have experienced wild swings in recent weeks on credit market worries, with some market observers speculating that the Fed may step in to lend a hand.

Instead central bank officials hinted that they were not panicked about the recent turmoil in credit markets at its policy meeting Tuesday. (Read the Fed statement).

On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that it expected home sales will continue to slow this year, but noted that home prices will drop far less than originally expected.

The housing market did receive some more promising news, as mortgage applications climbed over 8 percent last week, while luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (up $1.39 to $24.35, Charts, Fortune 500) warned of lower quarterly sales that were better than analysts' estimates.

Shares of fellow homebuilders such as Pulte Homes (up $1.50 to $21.88, Charts, Fortune 500) and Beazer Homes USA (up $2.94 to $14.97, Charts, Fortune 500) surged in afternoon trade on the news.

Bear Stearns (up $4.40 to $121.29, Charts, Fortune 500) shares climbed over 5 percent following reports that the battered Wall Street bank raised $2.25 billion in capital, soothing recent credit market fears.

In other corporate news, Sprint Nextel (Charts, Fortune 500), the No. 3 U.S. wireless service, posted lower quarterly profit on Wednesday but beat analysts' average forecast as it added new subscribers.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (up $1.26 to $82.51, Charts, Fortune 500) shares climbed nearly 3 percent after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (up $110.00 to $112,800.00, Charts, Fortune 500) revealed it increased its stake in the railroad firm.

News Corp. (up $0.41 to $22.74, Charts, Fortune 500) is scheduled to report results after the closing bell.

Market breadth was positive as gainers beat decliners by 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange on volume of 2.59 billion shares. Winners topped losers by 2 to 1 on the Nasdaq on volume of 3.58 billion shares.