Stocks rose significantly Friday despite the fact that U.S. economic growth is slowing, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is cautious about the recovery, and the world's biggest chipmaker lowered its sales forecast. U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was revised to an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent on Friday, much slower than the initial reading of 2.4 percent. However, it was better than the 1.4 percent economists had expected. In a second report, U.S. consumer sentiment fell slightly in late August from earlier in the month but was higher than in July. At an annual meeting of central-bank officials, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recovery is slowing but emphasized that the Fed has the tools to ensure continued growth. He said the recovery is “less vigorous” than expected. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and rose versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for October delivery rose $1.18 to $75.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose 20 cents to $1,237.90 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 164.84, or 1.65 percent, to 10,150.65. Intel issued a revenue warning, saying its third-quarter sales will miss the company's previous expectations. Intel shares, whose trading was halted for 15 minutes, gained more than 1 percent after trade resumed. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.37, or 1.7 percent, to 1,064.59. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 34.94, or 1.65 percent, to 2,153.63. The bidding war for data-storage firm 3PAR continued, as Dell increased its offer to match that of rival Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Thursday, and HP increased its bid again on Friday. Shares of 3PAR jumped 23 percent, while Dell's shares rose almost 3 percent. HP, listed in the Dow industrials, lost 1 percent.
