Stocks rise for third day; gold drops

NEW YORK – A late surge pushed stocks higher for the third day straight. The Dow Jones industrial average finished with a gain of 144 points Wednesday, but only after veering much of the day from gains to losses and back again.

Gold plunged $104 an ounce and government bond yields rose as investors became less fearful.

An encouraging rise in orders for cars, aircraft and other long-lasting goods in July helped ease worries that the U.S. was headed for another recession. The government said durable goods orders rose 4 percent, the biggest increase since March. Orders fell in June.

The Dow headed lower at the start of trading, turned up 115 points by 10 a.m., then pulled another U-turn and lost 48 points shortly after midday.

The Dow rose steadily in the last 90 minutes of trading to end up 143.95 points, or 1.3 percent, at 11,320.71.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 15.25 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,177.60. The broad market measure has surged 4.8 percent for the week. The Nasdaq rose 21.63, or 0.9 percent, to 2,467.69.

Large swings in the stock market have been commonplace this August. In the week after Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its AAA rating Aug. 5, the Dow alternated between 400-point gains and losses four days in a row. That’s never happened before.

The stock market often takes sudden turns in late August anyway, when fewer traders are at their desks, said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at the brokerage BTIG. Lower trading volumes often make for a more volatile market.

Another reason for the jumpiness is fear of a recession. Investors have said they’re weighing each economic report for evidence the economy may be heading for a slowdown. Even weak economic figures look encouraging if they’re not as bad as feared, Greenhaus said.