Washington  - US stock indices made gains Wednesday amid a rise in internet retail sales and a record increase in weekly mortgage applications overshadowed more news of a weakening economy.

Research firm ComScore said purchases over the internet increased 15 per cent on Monday - typically considered a big sales day after the Thanksgiving holiday - from the same day a year earlier. The news spurred gains in retailers that will be relying on strong holiday intakes over the coming month.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for home loans jumped a record 112 per cent last week, after a Federal Reserve pledge to buy up 500 billion dollars in mortgage debt sharply reduced interest rates. The downturn in the US housing market has been at the centre of the US economic crisis.

In more pessimistic news, the Federal Reserve reported economic activity has slowed in all parts of the country. All 12 regional Federal Reserve banks reported "weakened" activity in the central bank's latest Beige Book, a regular economic report last published October 15.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a group of economists considered the official arbiters of US business cycles, on Monday declared the US has been in a recession since December 2007, sending stocks down more than 7 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 172.60 points, or 2.05 per cent, to 8,591.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 21.93 points, or 2.58 per cent, to 870.74. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 42.58 points, or 2.94 per cent, to 1,492.38.

The US currency edged up to 78.72 euro cents from 78.68 euro cents on Tuesday. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 93.32 yen from 93.29 yen on Tuesday. (dpa)