The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.74 to 5,670.60, after spending the morning lower.

Advancers led decliners by 1,242 to 1,115 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume totaled 397.75 million shares vs. 337.7 million on Monday.

Broad indexes were mostly higher after computer shares recovered from a down morning.

The NYSE composite rose 1.26 to 350.03. The S&P 500 list rose 2.93 to 652.97. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.76 to 1,086.33. The Amex market value index rose 0.93 to 568.71.

"The Fed's statement was just what most people expected - that rates would be unchanged. That really helped stocks," said Anthony O'Bryan, a market analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis.

Investors looked for further clues to the Fed's policy in Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony Tuesday afternoon before the Senate Banking Committee, which will decide whether to confirm him to a third four-year term.

Also boosting stocks was a turnaround in some computer issues.

The stock and bond markets had little reaction to a midmorning report by the Conference Board that its consumer confidence index dipped to 97.7 in March from 98 in February. The private research group said consumers remain uneasy about the job market despite a government report March 8 that employment surged in February.