SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks swung to a slightly higher close Wednesday, boosted by a bounce from some technical levels and late-breaking reports on Yahoo Inc. and Bank of America Corp.
The Nasdaq Composite, however, ended the day lower, weighed by unease over Oracle Corp. earnings that hit the tech sector. Gains for the other benchmarks were also limited by worries about the consequences of the European Central Bank’s recent lending program.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 4.16 points, or 0.03%, at 12,107.74 after falling as much as 104 points at midday and spending most of the session lower.
The S&P 500 ended up 2.42 points, or 0.2%, at 1,243.72, with technology the only one of the index’s 10 sectors to end lower.
U.S. stocks started to cut their losses in the last hour of trading as both Bank of America Corp. and Yahoo Inc. shares made a sharp reversal higher.
Late in the session, the Justice Department announced a $335 million settlement with B. of A. over alleged discriminatory lending practices by its Countrywide Financial Corp. unit, putting an end to one legal issue hanging over the company. B. of. A. ended 1.2% higher.
Also, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website that Yahoo is discussing a plan to cut its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to about 15% from 40% as part of a tax-free transaction valued at between $17 billion and $18 billion. Yahoo shares ended 5.8% higher.
Besides the bank settlement and Yahoo news, some technical actions likely supported gains, said Stifel Nicolaus option/market strategist Elliot Spar.
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