Stocks inched higher yesterday as a see-saw session that started sharply lower was ultimately propped up by bargain hunters after two days of selling pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 to a nearly three-year low.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.34 of a point to end at 9,605.51, according to latest data, and the Nasdaq composite gained 7.70 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 1,695.40. The Nasdaq has risen only twice in the past 10 trading sessions.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 6.78 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 1,092.56. On Friday. it dropped below its April low and closed at a level unseen since late October 1998 after a surge in the US unemployment rate spooked Wall Street.
Voice and data services company Qwest Communications International cut its financial outlook and said it would cut 4,000 jobs and trim capital spending. Qwest fell initially to multi-year lows at $16.29 but later recovered, posting a gain of $1.76 at $19.90. It was the most active on the New York Stock Exchange.
