New York - US stocks gained Wednesday as the Federal Reserve reported that nearly all corners of the United States appeared to be out of recession.

The central bank's Beige Book found that five of 12 regional banks reported "signs of improvement" since the last survey in late July, and another six said their economies were stabilizing.

The report signalled the country's worst recession in seven decades has probably ended, but it also warned of "flat" retail sales and a "weak" labour market, suggesting the recovery will be slow.

Industrial firms gained after Goldman Sachs Group upgraded its rating of the sector.

But the dollar continued falling to some of its lowest levels of the year against major currencies, helping drive oil prices up 0.3 per cent to 71.31 dollars per barrel in New York trading.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 49.88 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 9,547.22. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index was up 7.98 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 1,033.37. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index surged 22.62 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 2,060.39.

The US currency hit another 2009 low against the euro, dropping to 68.65 euro cents from 69.03 euro cents on Tuesday. The dollar also fell to 92.03 Japanese yen from 92.31 yen on Tuesday. dpa