H-P, Yahoo! Help Lift Investor Sentiment

Secretary Paulson said at the event that he does not plan to initiate new programs beyond the TARP to prop up ailing banks.

The automakers, also lately on the ropes, were once again on investors' radar, as Mazda Motor said Ford (F Quote) was reducing its stake in the Japanese company to 13% from 33%. Ford, along with General Motors (GM Quote) and Chrysler, are facing mounting cash-flow problems on declining vehicle sales, credit crunch -related financing troubles and substantial legacy costs.

Looking at the day's earnings, hardware store operator Home Depot (HD Quote) announced earnings that fell 31% year over year on declining revenue. Fashion retailer Saks (SKS Quote) swung to a third-quarter loss.

In merger news, Alpha Natural (ANR Quote) and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF Quote) announced they had agreed to drop previous plans for a merger valued at about $10 billion.

Shifting to economic data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that producer prices fell by a record 2.8% in October. Economists were expecting a decline of 1.8%. The core rate PPI increased by 0.4%, above expectations for a 0.1% uptick.

As for commodities, crude oil was adding 20 cents to $55.15 a barrel. Gold was losing $7.70 at $734.30 an ounce.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising in price. The 10-year note was adding 3/32 to yield 3.64%. The 30-year was up 6/32, yielding 4.18%. The dollar was flat vs. the euro, gaining on the pound and declining against the yen.

Overseas, European exchanges such as the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt were trading lower. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed with losses.