NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose for a third day running Wednesday after a top Wall Street strategist urged investors to funnel cash into equities following weeks of declines and persistent fears over a soft economy. Abby Joseph Cohen, Goldman Sachs' chief investment strategist, an influential market analyst who is closely identified with the 1990s bull market, issued the third upbeat recommendation this week. She joined Merrill Lynch's David Bowers and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's Jay Pelosky in advising clients to buy U.S. stocks.