Stocks rallied sharply on Wall Street yesterday for the first time in nearly two weeks as a US government report of slower economic growth raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates next week.

At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 123.47, or 1.2 per cent, at 10,336.95, the index's second gain in eight sessions. It was also the Dow's biggest point gain since September 3rd. Broader stock indicators were higher as well.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 14.35 to 1,282.72, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 16.26 to 2,746.53. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by an 8-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,907 up, 1,193 down and 464 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 1.01 billion shares, against 850.86 million in the previous session. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.79 to 427.31.

Stocks rose after the Commerce Department reported that the US economy, weighed down by record trade deficits, saw growth slow to an annual rate of 1.6 per cent during the second quarter, the lowest rate of expansion in four years.