US stocks edged up on Thursday, rebounding from Wednesday's steep losses, but trading was choppy as nervous investors reacted to headlines painting a mixed picture of Europe's debt crisis. Wall Street was initially boosted by news that the European Central Bank was buying Italian bonds. But gains quickly erased as French bond yields surged on concerns about the nation's credit rating.
Stocks rose again at midday after Standard & Poor's rating agency said "a technical error" caused a message to be sent suggesting France's credit rating had been changed. S&P said "This is not the case" and it was investigating the cause of the error. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 71.75 points, or 0.61 percent, at 11,852.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.16 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,234.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.90 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,616.75.