US Stocks Turn Higher on Hopes of Stimulus

U.S. stocks are closing higher, recovering some of their big loss from a day earlier, after a Federal Reserve official said he supported more measures to stimulate the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 162 points to 12,574. Charles Evans, president of the Fed's Chicago bank, told Bloomberg News that he supported action to produce faster job growth. Last week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was ready to act if the economy needs it but made no promises.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 15 points to 1,324, and the Nasdaq composite rose 33 points to 2,843.

Gaining stocks outpaced losers about four to one in the United States. Volume was light, about 3.3 billion shares.