The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47.71 to close at 5,969.38. pulling within 31 points of 6,000. The Dow made its first ever moves above 6,000 on Monday and Tuesday, but quickly backed away.
Advancers led decliners by nearly a 7-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,480 up, 856 down and 896 unchanged. NYSE volume was 395.92 million shares, vs. 394.95 million yesterday.
Broader measures were higher too, recapturing ground lost in several days of profit-taking. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 6.05 to 700.66, and the NYSE's composite index ended 2.54 higher at 372.89. The Nasdaq composite index rose 11.20 to 1,248.17, and the American Stock Exchange index closed up 0.42 at 580.41.
Bellwether technology shares were among the session's biggest gainers, led by Intel Corp., which jumped after Morgan Stanley upgraded its opinion on the chipmaker's stock. The advance in computer-related shares lifted the Nasdaq market back toward record levels.
Bonds rallied this morning after the government reported that inflation at the wholesale level rose just 0.2 percent in September while retail sales turned in a better-than-expected performance. As bond prices rose today, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond - a key determinant of corporate and consumer borrowing costs - fell to 6.84 percent from late yesterday's 6.88 percent.