NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street finished higher for the third day in a row Wednesday as investors rushed to buy stocks in the last hour of trading.
Rising hopes that a solution to the Asian crisis may be in the works and expectations for stronger earnings in the United States helped push the market higher near the session's end after a day of very choppy, lackluster trading.
According to preliminary data, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 52.56 points to close at 7,784.69. On the New York Stock Exchange advances outnumbered declines, 1,888 to 1,066, as 596 million shares changed hands.
Broader markets also enjoyed a late surge, with the Nasdaq Composite finishing up 7.12 at 1,548.75 and the S&P 500 rising 5.80 to 957.92.
Bonds eyed every step of the stock market, always moving in the opposite direction. The late rally in stocks eroded gains in the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond , which finished 4/32 lower in price, lifting its yield to 5.73 percent.
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