Stocks rose sharply for a third straight session yesterday as signs of economic weakness failed to impede the latest push in Wall Street's autumn rebound.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 114.05 points - or 1.3 per cent - to 8,706.15 for a three-session gain of 334 points. While a report on Friday showed that US business was surprisingly brisk during the third quarter, the latest economic readings remained unsettling.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by nearly a 3-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,308 up, 832 down and 396 unchanged.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 12.93 to 1,111.60, the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 29.52 to 1,800.91, and the NYSE composite index rose 7.89 to 551.25.