Stocks stage comeback
Wall Street erases bigger losses to end mixed in a mostly weaker session influenced by Merrill Lynch's loss, Nokia's dour outlook and a big drop in a key manufacturing survey.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks ended mixed Thursday, with strength in financial and select technology shares helping the Dow erase losses and the Nasdaq recover from bigger declines.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) ended just above unchanged. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index ended just above unchanged. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 0.4%.
After the close of trade, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) reported sales and earnings that topped forecasts, sending shares higher in extended-hours trading.
Also after the close, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Fortune 500) reported a narrower quarterly loss versus a year ago that was in line with analysts' estimates on higher revenue that topped estimates. Shares of the chipmaker gained modestly in extended-hours trading.
Dow components Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and Honeywell (HON, Fortune 500) are among the large companies due to report quarterly results before the start of trade Friday.
Stocks had been lower through most of the session as investors mulled weaker quarterly results from Merrill Lynch, Nokia's dour outlook, a steep drop in a key manufacturing index and oil and gas prices near record highs.
"What we're seeing is fairly typical of a market that is trying to form a bottom," said Robert Loest, portfolio manager at Integrity Funds. "It's still too early to jump in with both feet, but investors are trying to wade in selectively."
However, he said that stocks were likely to be rangebound as investors wait for more earnings news.
Financial stocks rebounded in the afternoon as investors reacted positively to reports that Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) is planning to cut its cost base by up to 20%. The sector also benefited from reports that Freddie Mac has confirmed it will buy jumbo mortgages from four top lenders, including Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), JP Morgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500).
Stocks rallied Wednesday, with the Dow surging 250 points on better-than-expected reports from Intel and JP Morgan Chase. But Thursday's batch of earnings were less encouraging, with Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) becoming the latest financial services firm to report weak losses.
The investment bank reported a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss, due largely to a big writedown related to bad mortgage bets. Merrill also said it will cut about 4,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce. Shares bounced, erasing morning losses. (Full story).
Other earnings. On the upside, tech bellwethers IBM and eBay both reported upbeat earnings reports, after the close of trade Wednesday.
IBM reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates thanks to strong U.S. sales. IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) shares rose 2.2% Thursday. (Full story).
Online auctioneer eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped forecasts, due to more ad listings and strength in its global businesses. But the company also reported milder user growth than had been expected and analysts were mixed on the company's near-term outlook. Shares fell 3.5% Thursday. (Full story)
On another up note, Dow component United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates. However, investors took a 'sell the news' approach, sending shares 2.5% lower. (Full story).
Fellow Dow stock Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) reported lower profits as generic competition cut into sales of its blood-pressure treatment Norvasc and allergy treatment Zyrtec. Pfizer's results managed to top analysts' estimates, but shares fell over 3% anyway. (Full story).
Nokia (NOK) shares plunged 14% in active New York Stock Exchange trading after the Finnish telecom reported higher first-quarter earnings that missed forecasts and also issued a dour 2008 outlook.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners narrowly edged losers on volume of 1.23 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers 3 to 2 to on volume of 1.85 billion shares.
Economic news. Morning reports included weekly jobless claims, the Philadelphia Fed index and the index of leading economic indicators (LEI).
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment rose to 372,000 last week from a reading of 355,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought claims would rise to 375,000.
The Philadelphia Fed index, a regional manufacturing survey, fell to -24.9 in April from -17.4 in March, a more than 7-year low, according to reports. Economists thought it would improve slightly to a reading of -15.0. Any reading below zero indicates weakness.
The LEI rose 0.1% in March, as expected, after falling 0.3% in February.
In the afternoon, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said he had a strong reluctance toward more interest-rate cuts, saying there is a danger of "inflating our way" out of the credit crisis.
Commodity prices. U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 7 cents to settle at $114.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting a record high of $115.54 a barrel in electronic trading.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas hit an all-time record of $3.418, AAA reported. (Full story).
COMEX gold for June delivery fell $5.40 to settle at $942.90 an ounce.
Other markets. The dollar hit another all-time low versus the euro and rose against the yen.
Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.72% from 3.68% late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 
