The Dow posted a strong start, extending Friday's rebound as the New York market continued to shrug off its bearish performance at the start of the week.

Winning shares on the New York Stock Exchange outnumbered losers 2-to-1, but overall gains were modest.

At the high for the session the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 50 points at 9020. The gains tripped the market's so-called down-tick rule, which limits certain program trading.

After that prices started to slipp and at 10:28 local time (14:28 GMT) the index was clinging on just above the 9,000 level, up 30.39 points.

The Standard & Poor's 500-Stock Index added 5 points and the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index has risen 3 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 8 points.