Dollar higher

NEW YORK: The U.S. dollar rallied further to a five-month high, supported by relatively robust U.S. economic data in recent days, while Italy´s borrowing costs jumped and its stocks slid on concerns linked to economic plans from the country´s potential coalition government. Wall Street´s main stock indexes gained, with the Russell 2000 small-cap benchmark marking a record high. Investors were digesting Tuesday´s surge in U.S. bond yields on the heels of a retail sales report that fueled the dollar and hurt stocks. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield held well above 3 percent after bursting through key technical levels on Tuesday.

Data on Wednesday showed U.S. industrial production increased solidly in April, the latest indication that the economy was gathering momentum early in the second quarter.

"There is a lot of talk about the risks of interest rates and that's real. But then there's the question of why rates are rising and that's faster growth," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.52 points, or 0.25 percent, to 24,768.93, the S&P 500 gained 11.01 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,722.46 and the Nasdaq Composite added 46.67 points, or 0.63 percent, to 7,398.30.