NEW YORK » Wall Street put on another impressive show of resilience yesterday, rebounding from an early sell-off to end higher after the government said it would assist troubled U.S. automakers.

The market, which just a week earlier withstood a terrible November employment report, managed its advance after the Treasury Department said it was prepared to assist the nation's Big Three automakers. The Dow Jones industrial average had fallen more than 200 points in early trading after the Senate had killed a $14 billion bailout package for the companies.

“;It's hard to say if this is indeed the beginning of a recovery, but it could be,”; said Matt King, chief investment officer of Bell Investment Advisors. “;It seems like the past few Fridays we've ended the week on a positive note.”;

Since its Nov. 20 low, the Dow is up 14.3 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 is up 16.9 percent and the Nasdaq composite index has seen a gain of 17.1 percent. Still, from their October 2007 highs, the Dow remains down by 39.1 percent and the S&P 500 index is down 44 percent. The Nasdaq, which peaked at the start of the decade, is down 46.1 percent from its recent top.

Some of the market's moves yesterday were with an eye toward next week's Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. The two-day meeting begins Monday; the Fed is widely expected to lower its key federal funds rate half a percentage point to 0.5 percent, another step by the government toward lifting the economy out of recession.

The Dow rose 64.59, or 0.75 percent, to 8,629.68. The Dow tumbled 196 points Thursday as worries intensified that the auto bill would stall in the Senate.

The S&P 500 index rose 6.14, or 0.70 percent, to 879.73, and the Nasdaq rose 32.84, or 2.18 percent, to 1,540.72.

For the week, the Dow ended with a loss of fewer than 6 points, or 0.07 percent. The S&P 500 rose 0.42 percent, while the Nasdaq advanced 2.08 percent because of yesterday's gains. For the year, the Dow is down 34.9 percent, the S&P 500 is down 40.1 percent and the Nasdaq is off 41.9 percent.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 17.22, or 3.82 percent, to 468.43 Friday.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.58 percent from 2.63 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill rose to 0.04 percent from 0.02 percent late Thursday.

Light, sweet crude fell $1.70 to settle at $46.28 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.