Market manages small gain

News of more job cuts and a revenue warning from Hewlett-Packard put pressure on US stocks today, but Wall Street held firm, moderately extending a rebound that began a day earlier.

The gains, which were strongest in tech stocks, intensified late in a session characterised by early losses and choppy trading.

The Dow Jones industrials closed up 49.96 at 10,455.63, the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index rose 38.64 to 2,022.96, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished up 12.38 at 1,202.87.

Analysts did not expect the upturn to last, though, noting that the fundamental problems that led to the market's sell-off on Monday and Tuesday have not disappeared.

The session had a sour start as tech bellweather Hewlett-Packard said it was cutting 6,000 jobs - in addition to 4,700 previously announced - and expected to see third-quarter revenues decline as much as 16% from a year earlier, falling short of Wall Street's expectations.

The Dow component dropped more than 6%, down $1.68 at $24.

But those losses were offset by strong gains in other Dow stocks, including American Express, up 71 cents to $38.77, and Boeing, which advanced $1.44 to $58.11.

The tech sector also managed to stay positive despite mostly disappointing earnings news.

Investors shrugged off news of 12,500 new job cuts and a second-quarter loss at French networking company Alcatel, sending it up 82 cents, or more than 5%, to $15.82. The company previously announced 7,500 lay-offs.