US stocks inched higher on Wednesday as a rebound in crude oil prices lifted shares of oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp, while financial services companies gained on reassuring news from Bear Stearns Cos Inc.
But trading was volatile as some investors doubted the sustainability of Tuesday's sharp gains. News of a smaller-than-expected write-down at Bear Stearns helped calm nerves about the impact of the credit turmoil.
Merrill Lynch was another standout among financials, its stock up more than 5 percent following a newspaper report that the leading US brokerage will hire NYSE Chief Executive John Thain as its next CEO.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 6.83 points, or 0.05 percent, at 13,313.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.39 points, or 0.23 percent, at 1,484.44.
But the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.55 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,672.10. Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 1.6 percent to $88.30 on the New York Stock Exchange and ranked No 1 among the biggest positive influences on both the blue chip Dow average and the S&P 500 after oil prices climbed.
Merrill Lynch shares climbed 5.3 percent to $59.94 on the NYSE and ranked among the leading gainers in the S&P 500 following the report by the New York Post. Bear Stearns shares climbed 5.6 percent to $106.48 after the investment bank said it expects to write down $1.2 billion of assets linked to mortgages in the fourth quarter.