NEW YORK -- Stocks were sharply higher at mid-day, encouraged by a rally in the bond market after days of steep losses.

At noon on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 63.63 points at 3,656.98.

Volume on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was 179.79 million shares, compared with 161.14 million at the same time in the previous session.

Advancing shares swamped declines about 7 to 1 on the NYSE, with 2,026 up, 286 down and 400 unchanged.

The NYSE composite index was up 3.91 at 247.05. On the American Stock Exchange, the market value index was up 5.38 at 439.51, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 18.58 at 745.99.