US stocks shake off earnings anxiety

Stocks recouped earlier losses to end modestly higher today as investors set aside nervousness over an uneasy start to the second-quarter earnings season, marked by weak results from Alcoa Inc. and a sales warning at Lucent Technologies Inc.

With no economic data scheduled, the market focused on the impact of higher interest rates and energy costs on corporate profits. Disappointments from Dow Jones industrials components Alcoa and Lucent dragged the major indexes sharply lower before they rebounded late in the session – a sign that uncertain investors lacked information to drive stocks in one direction.