NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - By the smallest of margins, the Nasdaq composite index snapped a six-session losing streak Thursday as investors nibbled on some of the technology stocks whose losses pushed the index to a six-month low.

In a volatile session, the Dow Jones industrial average also edged higher after spending much of the day below 10,000 for the first time since February.

The Nasdaq rose 0.36 point, or 0.02 percent, to 1,713.70. Its first gain since April 16 came one day after the Nasdaq fell to its lowest level since Oct. 31.

The Dow rose 4.63, or 0.05 percent, to 10,035.06, after the index spent much of the session below 10,000 for the first time since Feb. 22. And the Standard & Poor's 500 declined 1.66, or 0.2 percent, to 1,091.48, widening its year-to-date loss to 5 percent.

Investors found plenty to unnerve them Thursday. Dynegy said the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into one of its deals, Tyco International warned on earnings, and Network Associates said it would restate results.

Financial stocks fell amid concerns about a widening investigation into conflicts of interests on Wall Street. And economic data showed falling existing home sales and a small dip in new jobless claims, pushing back some hopes for a more buoyant recovery.

"The economic news today has not been very supportive of a strong economic scenario," said Ned Riley, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors, who also said profit expectations for some Dow stocks may have been unrealistically high.

But money moved into some of the harder-hit technology stocks, including Microsoft (MSFT: up $0.71 to $53.73, Research, Estimates), WorldCom (WCOM: up $0.05 to $3.53, Research, Estimates) and Ericsson (ERICY: up $0.24 to $2.54, Research, Estimates), which have all either missed or warned on results this month..

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers edged decliners as 1.5 billion shares traded. Nasdaq losers topped winners as 1.9 billion shares changed hands.

In other markets, Treasury securities rose, building on Wednesday's gains. The dollar fell against the yen and euro. Gold prices rose as high as $309.80 an ounce.

The Dow's finish just above 10,000 underscores how far the index hasn't come. It was just over three years ago that the blue-chip measure first closed with five digits before rising and falling above 10,000 numerous times.

Citigroup (C: down $0.55 to $44.15, Research, Estimates) and J.P. Morgan (JPM: down $0.86 to $35.03, Research, Estimates) kept the Dow from a bigger gain. The Securities and Exchange Commission said it will join with other regulators and launch a formal investigation of Wall Street analysts' conflicts of interest.

The new probe comes amid criticism by New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has been weighing whether to bring criminal charges against Merrill Lynch for touting companies that the brokerage depended on for investment banking business.

Eastman Kodak (EK: down $0.76 to $33.18, Research, Estimates), whose first-quarter profit of 13 cents a share topped forecasts of 10 cents, led the Dow lower. The photography company's CEO said he sees "few signs of an economic recovery."

Automaker General Motors (GM: down $1.45 to $64.85, Research, Estimates) also hurt the Dow. So did Walt Disney (DIS: up $0.48 to $25.00, Research, Estimates), which reported fiscal second-quarter results that topped forecasts after trading concluded.

Fred Sears, portfolio manager at Investor Capital Funds, said an expensive stock market combined with profit uncertainty could lead to losses in the weeks ahead.

"The P/Es are still high and there's no visibility yet," said Sears, who calls the Dow particularly vulnerable. "Unlike the Nasdaq, the Dow hasn't rolled over yet."

NYSE's most actively traded stock, Tyco International (TYC: down $5.15 to $20.75, Research, Estimates), scrapped plans to split into four separate businesses three months after signaling the spinoffs would shed light on the conglomerate's complicated finances. Tyco also warned that 2002 earnings would miss forecasts by a wide mark.

The way Tyco accounted for its many acquisitions has unnerved investors worried about the accuracy of corporate finances.

Network Associates (NET: down $4.86 to $18.89, Research, Estimates), a security software provider, added to those worries. The company said it has discovered accounting inaccuracies in its 1999 and 2000 financial statements requiring a restatement of the results. The company withdrew its bid for McAfee.com (MCAF: down $4.57 to $13.97, Research, Estimates), which makes software to fight computer viruses.

NYSE's biggest loser, energy company Dynegy (DYN: down $8.09 to $19.21, Research, Estimates), which tried to merge with Enron last year, said the federal regulators were looking into one of its natural gas supply deals and that it would lose money in the first quarter

A decline in market value caused AOL Time Warner (AOL: up $0.19 to $19.49, Research, Estimates) to post one of the biggest quarterly losses in history, $54.2 billion. Excluding the writedown, the media company and parent of CNN/Money posted first-quarter earnings that topped forecasts.

Chuck Carlson, CEO of Horizon Investment Services, links the recent losses to the runup ahead of the March-quarter results released this month, as investors bought before the news and sold on the actual numbers.

"You had a nice runup in stocks, but in a lot of cases investors didn't get the forecasts they were looking for," Carlson said.

Still, Carlson, who has been bearish in recent months, has turned positive based on his technical analysis of the major indexes. "I would look for things to stabilize here -- not that they couldn't go any lower, but I feel pretty good about the market," he said.

The latest economic data showed that sales of existing homes fell 8.3 percent in March to an annual rate of 5.4 million units, a real estate group said. The report, weaker than expected, came a day after a government report showing softness in new home sales.

The number of Americans filing for first-time jobless claims fell by 31,000 to 421,000 last week, the government said, as the effect of new rules allowing the unemployed to reapply for benefits begins to fade. Separately, the Labor Department said its index of employment costs rose 0.8 percent in the first quarter.

Still, State Street's Riley said he was encouraged by the bond market, where yields have been falling -- making stocks more attractive and cheapening certain borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. The 10-year note yield has slipped in recent days to 5.09 percent.

"That may eventually be the thing that gets the market going," he said.