Rising commodity prices lift stocks

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 203.82 points to close on Thursday at 10,005.96

Investors sidestepped some of their doubts about the US economy and bought energy, industrial and materials stocks as commodity prices rose during a mixed day on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.53, or 0.2%, to close on Tuesday at 9,771.91, after being down as much as 86 points. The Dow, which jumped 77 points on Monday, slipped back while broader indexes rose.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.53, or 0.2%, to 1,045.41, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.12, or 0.4%, to 2,057.32.

Stocks ended back-and-forth trading mostly higher as a spike in the price of gold and corporate deal-making extended Monday's advances. The gains in commodity prices helped stocks offset early losses.

Investors drew some comfort from billionaire investor Warren Buffett's decision to pay 100 dollars (£60.90) a share for Burlington Northern Santa Fe in a deal valuing the railroad at 34 billion dollars (£20.7bn).

Meanwhile, tool maker Stanley Works struck a deal to acquire Black & Decker Corp for 3.46 billion dollars (£2bn) in stock.

Commodities rose broadly and gold jumped to a new high after India's central bank bought 6.7 billion dollars (£4bn) worth of gold from the International Monetary Fund.

Even with the gains in commodities, traders remained on edge about unemployment and the overall strength of an economic recovery.

Traders have been uneasy in recent weeks, wary about whether the economic recovery can maintain the same pace once government stimulus measures are removed. That uncertainty has led to wild swings in the market. The Dow has risen or fallen more than 100 points in six of the last eight trading days, the most volatility since March.

Analysts said a break in the advance could ease worries that the market has run too far. "This is a much-needed healthy pause and reassessment. It ran so far," said David Darst, chief investment strategist for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in New York.