WALL Street stocks closed with substantial gains yesterday, led higher by technology shares as earnings reports continued strong even as new government figures suggested the US economy is slowing.

Traders and analysts noted that for the first time in many sessions advances had a strong lead on declines on the Big Board.

Stocks rose with bonds amid mounting expectations that the slowing economy would prompt the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its policy meeting next week.

Those expectations were bolstered by a Fed report showing that industrial production edged up 0.1 per cent in November. Many analysts had expected a rise of about 0.3 per cent.

The central bank also reported that US industries were operating at 82.8 percent of capacity, down from 83% in November. That suggests a lack of any production bottlenecks that could boost inflation.