WALL Street stocks staged a broad advance today as bonds rallied on a mild US inflation reading, sending long term interest rates back below 7 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 43 points, to close at 5,518.14, after retreating several times from gains of more than 50.

The Dow and broader blue chip measures have swung widely in the past week amid mixed signals on inflation and rising bond yields. Advances outnumbered declines by about 7 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,707 up, 724 down and 724 unchanged.

The NYSE's composite index rose 3.41 to 350.02. The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index rose 6.65 to 652.09.