By TIM PARADIS and IEVA M. AUGSTUMS (AP)
NEW YORK — The stock market resumed its climb as a weaker dollar lifted commodities and Federal Reserve officials signaled that borrowing would remain inexpensive.

The moves in the dollar again tugged at stocks, a pattern that has become familiar in recent months. The market bounded higher in early trading but came off its highest levels by late morning.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 20 points after being up as much as 95 points, hitting another 13-month high. A higher finish on Wednesday would be the sixth straight gain for the Dow.

Gold rose and oil rose as the dollar at times slipped following predictions from Federal Reserve officials late Tuesday that the economic recovery is likely to be weak. Investors took that as another sign that policymakers will hold interest rates low to help resuscitate the economy.

Record-low interest rates and the resulting slide in the dollar have been major forces behind the surge in stocks since March. The borrowing costs of near zero are a boon for financial companies, and the weakening dollar helps make U.S. exports cheaper to overseas buyers.

Upbeat news about corporate earnings and global economies also boosted stocks.

Home builders rose after Toll Brothers Inc. said late Tuesday that it saw a 42 percent jump in signed contracts for new homes in its latest quarter.

News from overseas also boosted stock prices. The French bank Credit Agricole SA posted earnings that topped expectations, while employment rose in Britain for the first time since May 2008.

Analysts said the direction of the dollar likely will continue to dictate trading.

“I don’t see anything that’s changing out there that’s going to stop out dollar from getting weaker,” said Ralph Fogel, co-chief investment officer at Fogel Neale Partners in New York.

In late morning trading, the Dow rose 17.08, or 0.2 percent, to 10,264.05. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.36, or 0.2 percent, to 1,095.37, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.97, or 0.3 percent, to 2,158.05.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.04, or 0.5 percent, to 589.97.

U.S. government bond markets are closed for Veterans Day.

Crude oil rose 17 cents to $79.22 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Toll Brothers jumped $2.74, or 14.9 percent, to $21.13 after its report. That lifted other home builders. Pulte Homes Inc. rose 47 cents, or 5 percent, to $9.93, while Beazer Homes USA Inc. advanced 26 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $5.36.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 364.2 million shares compared with 356.7 million shares traded at the same point Tuesday.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.1 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.8 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.9 percent, and France’s CAC-40 added 0.8 percent.

Ieva Augstums reported from Charlotte, N.C.

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