WALL Street stocks rallied, led by technology shares and financial services issues, after Federal Reserve officials decided against raising interest rates to slow the economy as a hedge against inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose just over 1 per cent having fallen by as much as 76 points before the Fed policy meeting ended without any change in the central bank's interest rates.

Technology issues and smaller-company shares extended their gains after the Fed meeting to boost the Nasdaq market.

Among leading Nasdaq technology issues, Intel, Dell Computer, Cisco Systems and Microsoft posted big gains. IBM, meanwhile, jumped the equivalent of 19 Dow points to lead the blue-chip average.

The Dow also drew support from J P Morgan, Travelers Group, and American Express. The Nasdaq composite index rose 22.34 to 1363.58.