Blue chip stocks rallied for the third successive session yesterday as investors shrugged off economic data that briefly knocked their enthusiasm over Tuesday's tame US inflation figures.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92.71 points to close at 6,679.87, bringing its three day rebound to nearly 290 points.

Stocks opened lower after a weak start in the bond market, where interest rates rose amid signs of more inflationary pressures revealed by a report on industrial production.

The Federal Reserve reported that industrial output surged 0.9% in March, straining the capacity of American factories, mines and utilities to maintain production.

The increase, nearly double what economists anticipated brought the industrial operating rate to the highest level in two years.