US stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday as investors nibbled at technology stocks that were battered in recent sessions.
Questions about the health of corporate earnings in the quarters ahead, however, kept their enthusiasm in check, and solid results from aluminium maker Alcoa Inc and Internet media company Yahoo Inc after the close appeared to do little to reduce their anxiety.
During the regular session, a surge in gold prices above $400 an ounce boosted shares of mining companies, like Newmont Mining.
Data storage company EMC Corp and telecommunications equipment maker Motorola Inc also rose, bouncing back from severe losses in recent sessions amid worries about slowing earnings growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 20.95 points, or 0.21 percent, to 10,240.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 2.12 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,118.33, based on the latest figures. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.65 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,966.08.
Trading was moderate, with about 1.3 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.8 billion shares traded on Nasdaq.
Shares of Alcoa ended up 79 cents, or 2.5 percent, at $32.77 before the release of its earnings. It was the first Dow component to report second-quarter results.
Alcoa, the world's biggest aluminium producer, said late on Wednesday net income for the quarter rose sharply on strong sales of alumina and chemicals. Its shares dipped about $1 on the INET electronic brokerage system before recovering to trade at about $32.77.
Yahoo fell 62 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $32.60 during the regular session. Its shares then tumbled about 13 percent in extended-hours trading to $28.43 even after it posted quarterly profit that more than doubled.
PeopleSoft erased earlier losses and rose 31 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $17.13, as investors bet PeopleSoft's weak performance could help Oracle make a stronger case to PeopleSoft's board for its $7.7 billion acquisition bid.
EMC gained 80 cents, or 7.9 percent, to $10.96. On Tuesday, EMC and other data storage companies plunged sharply after Veritas Software Corp, which sells data storage software, warned its results would disappoint.
Motorola rose 52 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $17.37.
A surge in the price of gold, which jumped as the dollar sank to a 3-month low against the euro, sent shares of precious metals mining companies higher. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold led the way with a gain of $2.21, or 6.8 percent, to $34.74. Newmont Mining rose $1.73, or 4.4 percent, to $41.12.
The Gold Bugs index of gold company stocks rose 3.4 percent and the Gold/Silver index jumped 4 percent.
In New York, Comex gold for August delivery shot up $9.70 to settle at $402.70 an ounce. Earlier, the contract hit a session peak at $404, its highest since June 28.