WALL Street stocks turned mostly higher yesterday, rebounding with bonds as investors shrugged off some inflation worries and their disappointment that several strong earnings reports were not even better.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.03 points to close at 6,020.81, having erased a 35 point drop that temporarily took the index below 6,000 for the second straight session.

Bonds fell after a report showing that US consumer prices rose 0.3 per cent in September. Declines outnumbered advances by a small margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,165 up, 1,237 down and 853 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 440.40 million shares, against 458.88 million in the previous session.

The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index rose 1.85 to 704.42, and the NYSE's composite index rose 0.93 to 374.53.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 7.12 to 1,250.98, and the American Stock Exchange's market value index rose 0.87 to 576.52.