The first growth in the US service industry in a year and an upgrade of big banks boosted Wall Street after a two-week slide.

Stocks reversed a steep sell-off to end mostly higher today as fears about a worrying jobs report gave way to bargain-hunting in sectors like financials and consumer staples.

US stocks managed to notch a modest gain today, with Wall Street cautious ahead of tomorrow’s jobs report but hopeful that the global financial system is on the mend.

US stocks tumbled today as the ailing credit market and a spike in home foreclosures intensified the market’s worries about a sagging economy. The Dow Jones industrials gave up 214 points.