US stocks ended a choppy session higher on Friday as an upbeat wholesale report helped market extend September rally.
Trading was light, and major indexes seesawed before rising from early lows to close moderately higher.
The recent rally in Wall Street was fueled by a string of upbeat economic reports which showed the recovery in the United States seemed better than expected.
A government report released on Friday showed wholesale inventories surged by the largest amount in two years, raising hopes that consumer spending might be soon picking up.
According to the Commerce Department, inventories jumped 1.3 percent in July, more than three times the 0.4 percent increase analysts had anticipated, showing that wholesalers are still confident in the recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 47.53 points, or 0.46 percent, to 10,462.77. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.37 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,109.55 and the Nasdaq was up 6.28 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,242.48.
