Wall Street ended a mildly erratic day slightly lower today after anxiety about widening credit problems offset investor optimism about a $2bn (€1.47bn) capital infusion into troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.

Wall Street today bounced back from its sharp decline a day earlier, boosted by takeover activity ahead of second-quarter earnings reports.

A larger-than-expected drop in house building gave Wall Street a mixed performance today, but the Dow Jones industrials had their third straight record close.

Wall Street extended its February rally today, growing confident that interest rates will hold steady even as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tempered his forecast of slowly cooling growth and inflation with a reminder that price pressures remain a concern.

Wall Street shot higher today after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said US economic growth seemed to be moderating and inflation remained contained.

Stocks rose smartly in the United States today as stronger-than-expected earnings from FedEx and Morgan Stanley put investors’ inflation fears on the back burner. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points.