Another volatile session that finishes higher for Wall Street (AP) (28-02-2008)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Markets on Wall Street finished mixed in yet another volatile session Wednesday.

During the session, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gave some support to the market after the government removed restrictions on the size of their portfolios, which offered a chance for an easing of the extremely tight mortgage market hurt by the subprime loan crisis.

Bernanke’s testimony indicated the Fed is willing to take action in support of the sagging economy and will tackle the risks of inflation later. Following his remarks the dollar plunged to a record low against the 15-nation euro. That sent already inflated oil and gold prices further into record high territory, and raised the prospect of accelerating inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.36, or 0.07 percent, to 12,694.28, while broader indexes were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.27, or 0.09 percent, to 1,380.02, and the NASDAQ composite index rose 8.79, or 0.37 percent, to 2,353.78.

 Source: AP