The Dow industrials staged a final-hour rally, ending three days of losses as investors searched for bargain stocks whose prices sank amid renewed fears of lower corporate profits and Asian economic troubles.

At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 23 points at 8834 after sliding every day this week except Monday.

The selling resumed after Japanese officials yesterday announced the first year of economic contraction in two decades, which confirmed Japan is in a severe recession and deepened fears that its financial troubles will worsen Asia's economic crisis.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 4.17 at 1,098.75, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 4.67 at 12,745.08,