Stocks struggle to stay higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street struggled to hold onto early gains Thursday as investors continued to wrestle with subprime fears even amid upbeat corporate earnings news.

The Dow Jones industrial index (up 11.14 to 13,373.51, Charts) gained over 0.3 percent with 2-1/2 hours remaining in the session.

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The broader S&P 500 (down 2.35 to 1,463.46, Charts) rose 0.1 percent after dipping into negative territory, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index (up 7.91 to 2,561.78, Charts) climbed 0.5 percent.

Stocks got a lift after companies such as Nokia, Starbucks (down $0.02 to $27.18, Charts, Fortune 500) and Dow component Walt Disney (up $0.16 to $33.99, Charts, Fortune 500) all reported improved earnings.

Nokia (up $2.20 to $30.61, Charts) shares climbed nearly 8 percent after the Finnish cell phone maker's results topped forecasts.

But continued worries about the subprime mortgage market, which have contributed to the market's recent volatility, again troubled investors Thursday.

Mortgage lender Accredited Home Lenders Holding (down $3.35 to $4.86, Charts) said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange commission it was not certain it would continue to operate due to the adverse conditions in the subprime mortgage market. Shares of the company tumbled nearly 49 percent on the Nasdaq.

"I think once get past this scare, people are going to be rushing to buy the market," said Harry Clark, founder and CEO of Clark Capital Management Group.

Higher oil prices also pressured stocks just a day after crude climbed to a record trading high. U.S. light crude for September delivery rose 67 cents to $77.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other earnings news, media outfit Viacom (up $0.44 to $38.44, Charts) posted higher revenue and a narrower-than expected quarterly loss Thursday, helped by DVD sales and box office revenue of "Shrek The Third."

Eastman Kodak (up $1.05 to $26.60, Charts, Fortune 500) shares climbed nearly 4 percent after the company reported a quarterly profit helped by the sale of its health-care group.

In other corporate news, financial data processor Fiserv (up $0.16 to $49.35, Charts, Fortune 500) said it will acquire the electronic payment processing company Checkfree (up $8.63 to $45.46, Charts) for $4.4 billion in cash, soothing recent concerns that dealmaking will dry up on Wall Street in the wake of recent troubles in the credit market. Checkfree shares soared about 23 percent on the news.

On the economic front, factory orders rose at a weaker-than expected pace of 0.6 percent in June, the government reported, and fell when stripping out the volatile transportation component.

Weekly jobless claims edged higher last week, the government reported before the opening bell, but came in lower than expected.

Treasury prices climbed, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 4.76 percent from 4.79 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar fell versus the euro and edged lower against the yen.

COMEX gold for December gained 60 cents to $676.50 an ounce.

Market breadth was positive. Winners beat losers by 9 to 7 on volume of 1.08 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. Advancers edged out decliners on volume of 1.43 billion on the Nasdaq.

Overseas, both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank fulfilled expectations by leaving interest rates unchanged Thursday.

Asian stocks tiptoed higher and European markets finished up for the day.