* Trading was volatile, with investors weighing a plan released by the Obama administration to stem home foreclosures.

* There's a process of evaluating the stimulus plan and the foreclosure plan. People are looking to see whether we're going the right path or not, said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 20.87 points, or 0.28 percent, at 7,573.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.79 points, or 0.23 percent, at 790.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 8.56 points, or 0.58 percent, at 1,479.22.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Leslie Adler)