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Dow Closes at 15-Month High - CNNMoney.com -- Stocks rallied Wednesday as investors resumed the advance after a one-day selloff, scooping up tech and financial shares despite Google's potential shutdown of its China operations and mea culpas from the nation's major bank executives.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53 points, or 0.5%, closing at its highest point since Oct. 1, 2008. The S&P 500 index rose 9 points, or 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite gained 26 points, or 1.1%.

Stocks fell Tuesday after Alcoa's weaker-than-expected profit report and a profit warning from Chevron raised worries about the strength of the fourth-quarter reports.

Oil Closes Below $80 on Supply Concerns - CNNMoney.com -- Oil prices dipped below $80 a barrel Wednesday after a government report showed a larger-than-expected increase in the nation's fuel supplies.

Crude oil for February delivery dropped $1.14 to settle at $79.65 a barrel after falling to a low of $78.39 earlier in the session.

In its weekly report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude supplies rose by 3.7 million barrels. The report highlighted concerns about swelling U.S. fuel inventories as the weak economy has kept a lid on energy demand.

Refinance Loan Applications Rebound 21% After Holiday Season - The Mortgage Bankers Association today released the Weekly Survey on Mortgage Application Activity for the week ending January 8, 2010.

Mortgage applications increased 14.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. The Refinance Index increased 21.8 percent from last week's holiday adjusted index and increased 73.9 percent from last week's unadjusted index. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.8 percent from one week earlier. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.13 percent from 5.18 percent, with points decreasing to 1.17 from 1.28.