U.S. markets close up modestly

NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A day of wild ups and downs ended with U.S. markets in positive territory Wednesday as lawmakers in Washington moved forward with help for automakers.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average, down as late as 3 p.m., was up 0.81 percent, 70.09 points, to 8,761.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 1.19 percent, or 10.57 points, to 899.24. The Nasdaq composite index was up 18.14 points, 1.17 percent, to 1,565.48.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,177 stocks advanced and 952 declined on volume of 6.6 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 14/32 to yield 2.696 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro rose to $1.3019, compared to Tuesday's $1.2929. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 92.63 yen, up from Tuesday's 92.12 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average gained 264.37 points to 8,660.24, up 3.15 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 13.98 points, down 0.32 percent, to 4,367.28.