Wall Street rose sharply today as investors grew more confident that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next week, even after its chairman gave no clues about the central bank’s intentions.

Wall Street closed out a dismal third quarter with a mixed performance Thursday after Merck & Co. said it would be forced to remove its best-selling Vioxx arthritis drug from the market.

Wall Street edged higher in choppy trading today, with investors making few moves as they waited for companies to start reporting their fourth-quarter earnings this week.

Tech stocks extended their decline today as United States investors locked in gains following disappointing results from Computer Associates.