WALL Street stocks rose but failed to bring the broader market with them as investors got confirmation that the Federal Reserve would not raise short-term interest rates.

At the close on Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average was up 39.98 to 6,308.33. The blue-chip index fell as much as 35 points at the opening but climbed back by late morning, at one point in the afternoon posting a gain of more than 50 points.

Relieved investors drove blue-chip prices higher after the Fed decided at its policy meeting that it would leave rates unchanged. But the rest of the market struggled.

Declines outnumbered advances by 1,274 to 1,265 the New York Stock Exchange, leaving 812 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 519.84 million shares, against 447.56 million in the previous session.

The Standard and Poor's 500-stock index rose 5.08 to 726.06, and the NYSE's composite index rose 1.92 to 382.77.