The Dow Jones index rose for the third straight session yesterday, bolstered by a rebound in Latin American stocks and hopes that global leaders are serious about tackling financial turmoil.

While the Dow swung in positive terrain for much of the session, the rest of the market was lacklustre, with many investors sitting on their hands, waiting to see if US Federal Reserve chairman, Mr Alan Greenspan, will hint about interest rate cuts in his testimony to Congress today.

"We have had in the last 48 hours some relatively strong words from the International Monetary Fund and the Group of Seven which have given investors some hope that the folks that have access to levers are not exactly asleep at the switch," said Mr Charlie Crane, chief market strategist at Key Asset Management.