Late Rally Lifts Dow, but Nasdaq Slips

On a brighter note, American Express (AXP Quote) gave support to the Dow after its first-quarter profit drop wasn't as steep as analysts were expecting, thanks to its international presence. The credit-card company also reaffirmed its above-consensus view for the full year. Shares tacked on 6.1%.

Also having a good day was Goodyear (GT Quote), which reported swinging to a profit on a "record" top line of $4.9 billion. The tire maker also trounced Street profit views on an adjusted basis. Shares climbed 5.3%.

Among the day's research calls, Wal-Mart (WMT Quote) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch, while Ford (F Quote) was downgraded at JPMorgan, Bear Stearns and Merrill a day after the automaker's earnings-inspired rally. Wal-Mart shares were rising 0.5%, while Ford plunged 7.6%.

Oppenheimer initiated three ethanol stocks, Pacific Ethanol (PEIX Quote), VeraSun (VSE Quote) and Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR Quote), with perform ratings, lifting shares by between 6% and 17%.

Citigroup upgraded China-based Internet stocks Baidu.com (BIDU Quote) and Sohu.com (SOHU Quote) to buy from hold, and shares were up 5.6% and 7.6%, respectively.

Treasury prices were losing ground. The 10-year note lost 14/32 in price to yield 3.88%, and the 30-year bond lost 1-1/32 in price, yielding 4.61%.

Overseas markets were mixed. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4% overnight, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong declined 0.6%. As for European bourses, the FTSE 100 in London, Germany's Xetra Dax, and the Paris Cac were each rising 0.7% or more.