Technology and smaller-company stocks ended a week-long slump, boosting the Nasdaq market and other indexes back into record territory.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 43.00 points to 5,518.14, after retreating several times from gains of more than 50.
Advancers led decliners by about 7 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,707 up, 724 down and 724 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 428.36 million shares vs. 403.80 million in the previous session.
The Dow and broader blue-chip measures have swung widely in the past week amid mixed signals on inflation and rising bond yields, which has diverted some investor dollars from stocks into bonds.
Major stock indexes advanced solidly, but the blue-chip indicators failed to hold onto sharper gains. The NYSE composite rose 3.41 to 350.02. The S&P 500 list rose 6.65 to 652.09.
At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index rose 4.12 to 591.33.
Speculative issues fared better, with the Nasdaq composite and other indexes dominated by technology and smaller-company shares resuming their recent rally.
The Nasdaq, flirting with its first close above the 1,200-mark, set a new record, as did the Russell 2000 list of smaller companies. The Nasdaq rose 13.90 to 1,201.72. The Russell 2000 rose 3.51 to 351.14.
Bond prices surged on Friday after the government reported a surprisingly small increase in wholesale prices during April. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond - a benchmark used to set the rate charge on many types of loans - fell to 6.92 percent.
Labor Department said producer prices rose 0.4 percent in April, as a decline in food costs was offset by a big jump in energy costs. But excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core rate of inflation was up only 0.1 percent in April.