Stocks scramble back

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Technology stocks remained stuck in the red but the broader market improved a bit Thursday afternoon amid mild comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and a drop in Treasury bond yields.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 5.92 to 12,655.82, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (down 0.81 to 1,446.18, Charts) index both lost a few points with less than two hours left in the session.

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The Nasdaq (down 5.05 to 2,465.55, Charts) composite slid about 0.2 percent.

All three major gauges had slipped through the early afternoon, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq hit the hardest. But the declines were modest and as such, eased up as the afternoon wore on.

Fed Chairman Bernanke, speaking before the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, discussed the history and implications of economic and earnings inequality. The speech did not address the current current state of the economy or interest rates and was something of a relief to investors.

Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow and San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen are both due to speak later in the day as well.

Investors also took in comments from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who told Congress that the economy is slowing to a steady growth rate, providing the government a window for reforming Medicare and Social Security.

Paulson's comments Tuesday were part of a broader discussion on President Bush's proposed $2.9 billion budget for the year, announced Monday.

Stocks on the move included chipmakers, which fell following a profit warning from National Semiconductor late Monday, dragging techs along for the ride.

Beyond that, there didn't seem to be any one particular catalyst dragging on stocks, said Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. listed trading at Legg Mason.

"It's kind of directionless right now," Schrader said, noting the economic calendar doesn't pick up until next week and a lot of the major earnings are already out.

"You had oil getting up closer to $60 a barrel earlier and that was making people a bit nervous, so that's something to keep an eye on," he added.

Crude oil for March delivery rose 16 cents to $58.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In corporate news, National Semiconductor (down $0.80 to $22.52, Charts) warned late Monday that revenue in its fiscal third quarter will fall more substantially from the second quarter than previously thought, due to slower shipments. Shares dropped about 4 percent.

A variety of chip stocks fell, including Advanced Micro Devices (down $0.37 to $15.23, Charts) and Broadcom (down $0.35 to $31.79, Charts). The Philadelphia Semiconductor (down 4.65 to 462.47, Charts) index, or the SOX, lost just under 1 percent.

In merger news, mortgage insurance company MGIC Investment (up $6.95 to $69.88, Charts) said it is buying rival Radian Group (up $5.58 to $66.42, Charts) in a $4.9 billion stock swap.

Private-equity group Blackstone boosted its offer for Equity Office Properties (up $0.42 to $55.88, Charts) to $23 billion, bringing its bid to just below the counter offer made by Vornado Realty Trust (up $2.54 to $127.64, Charts).

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by nine to seven on volume of 960 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers narrowly edged decliners on volume of 1.4 billion shares.

COMEX gold for March delivery rose $2.20 to $658.30 an ounce

Treasury prices reversed course from the morning, turning higher and sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.79 percent from 4.81 percent late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar turned higher versus the yen after Paulson said there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the yen's weakness and that Japanese officials haven't been interfering to keep the yen near 20-year lows.

The dollar slid further versus the euro.

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