Financial stocks pushed Wall Street higher on Wednesday in a volatile session caused by fluctuating oil prices and concerns that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are near a government takeover. Stocks fell in the morning as rising oil prices and worries about mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac overshadowed Hewlett-Packard's strong profits. But by midday, stocks had recovered as oil prices fell after the government's weekly oil inventory report sowed a bigger-than-expected jump in crude supplies. Light sweet crude oil for September delivery rose 34 cents to $114.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and the yen. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell for a third consecutive session on concerns that a government takeover of the two companies is unavoidable. Fannie shares lost 26 percent and Freddie shares lost 22 percent. Additionally, Goldman Sachs reduced third-quarter and full-year profit estimates on five brokerages. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.88, or 0.6 percent, to 11,417.43. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.85, or 0.6 percent, to 1,274.54. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 4.72, or 0.2 percent, to 2,389.08. Hewlett-Packard reported higher quarterly sales and profits that surpassed estimates late Tuesday. The company also forecast that fiscal fourth-quarter profits would surpass current expectations. Its stock rose 5 percent. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 64.44 to 8,276.91. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 24.07 to 2,063.44. And the Russell 2000 index rose 1.57 to 731.60.
