Wall Street perked up yesterday, after the US government reported better-than-expected GDP number. The Dow traded in a range of less than 300 points, showing some signs of stability.

The US Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product, or GDP, decreased at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the biggest third-quarter decline since 2001. However, the decline is less than the 0.5 percent decrease that economists had expected.

In corporate news, Coglate-Palmolive, the world's largest maker of toothpaste, reported a 19 percent rise in profit in the third quarter. Coglate jumped 7 percent.

American Express, the largest US credit-card company, rallied3.4 percent, after the company announced 1.8 billion U.S. dollars cost-saving program, including 7,000 jobs cut next year.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said its third-quarter profit jumped 58 percent to US$14.8 billion, breaking its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a US corporation. However, Exxon rose less than 1 percent, as crude oil dropped and UBS AG cut its forecast for oil prices next year by 43 percent.

Avon products Inc., the world's largest door-to-door cosmetics seller, posted its third-quarter earnings missed estimates. Avon tumbled more than 15 percent.

The Dow Jones rose 189.73, or 2.11 percent, to 9,180.69. Broader indexes moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 24.00, or 2.58 percent, to 854.09, and the Nasdaq 41.31, or 2.49 percent, to 1,698.52.