U.S. stocks close up 0.5 percent

NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes closed up more than a half percent Wednesday, a day after scoring their biggest single-day gains since early 2003.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 76.17 points, or 0.55 percent, to 13,815.56. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index moved up 9.25 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,529.03.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,189 stocks rose and 1,146 declined, on volume of 4 billion shares traded.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 14.82 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,666.48.

In London, the FTSE 100 index closed up 176.70 points, or 2.81 percent, to 6,460.00.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index finished the day up 579.74 points, or 3.67 percent, at 16,381.54.

The Bank of Japan voted 8-1 Wednesday to keep interest rates steady. Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said the central bank wanted to maintain monetary stability due to concerns "U.S. economic instability had increased," leading to uncertainty over Japan's economic environment.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 16/32, yielding 4.532 percent, while the 30-year bond was down 1 6/32, yielding 4.825 percent.

The U.S. dollar fell to 116.08 yen from 116.22 yen in New York late Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.3962 from $1.3969.