"The rhetoric of war continues," said Peter Cardillo, president and chief strategist of Global Partner Securities Inc. "It has become more a question of not if, but when, and that continues to move the market."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 67.49, or

0.8 percent, to close at 8,380.18, after falling as much as 55 points during the day, according to preliminary calculations. That came after a 1.4 percent decline last week.

The broader market ended mixed. The Nasdaq composite index fell 15.54, or 1.2 percent, to 1,275.86, having dipped 0.3 percent last week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.29, or 0.1 percent, to 891.10, following a weekly decline of 0.5 percent.

The Commerce Department reported today that U.S. business inventories rose 0.4 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted $1.1 trillion. It was the third-straight month of gains, offering hope for a strengthening economic recovery.

Still, analysts said investors remained nervous about a war with Iraq, which has helped prompt three weeks of declines among the three major market gauges.

Today, President Bush continued to press for United Nations action against Saddam Hussein, telling Iowans in a speech that "if Iraq's regime continues to defy us and the world (the United States) will move deliberately yet decisively to hold Iraq to account."

Investors also were being cautious as they brace for a round of earnings warnings from companies starting this week. Light trading due to the Yom Kippur holiday helped accentuate price swings, analysts said.

"Investors are a little apprehensive about sticking their foot in the water ahead of (earnings) reports that could dictate the direction of the market," said Todd Salamone, director of trading at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.

Gainers included General Electric, which rose 85 cents to $27.90, after the conglomerate said it received a request for cooperation in a Securities and Exchange Commission informal investigation examining former CEO Jack Welch's post-retirement benefits.

Boeing gained $1.65 to $37.23 after the aerospace company averted a strike by its biggest union.

Tyco dropped 34 cents to $16.54 on news the company would report this week making millions of dollars in undisclosed loans to employees that were later forgiven by former CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski, according to The New York Times.