The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.01 to close at 5,566.91. Advancers led decliners by about 6 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,278 up, 1,049 down and 823 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 462.12 million shares, vs. 493.34 million in the previous session.

Broad-market indexes also turned higher after spending much of the session down.

The NYSE's composite rose 1.33 to 350.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 2.70 to 652.87. The American Stock Exchange index rose 2.41 to 591.46.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite surged 6.37 to close at 1,183.20 to set a record for the sixth straight session. The index has now risen more than 7.5 percent in two weeks. In recent weeks, technology and smaller company shares have surged amid fears that an improving economy will mean rising interest rates and inflation, impeding earnings growth for big companies.

"Money managers think the economy will be stronger in the second half, and that will be good for smaller stocks," said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at Fahnestock & Co.

DuPont pulled down the Dow industrials for much of the session after Goldman Sachs and Smith Barney downgraded the stock. DuPont reported on Wednesday that its first quarter earnings fell more than 8 percent.