U.S. Stocks End Volatile Day With Mixed Results

Updated from 4:14 p.m. EST

After a Tuesday marked with choppy trading, blue-chip stocks eked out a third straight day of gains, after the Federal Reserve announced $800 billion in new federal programs to help fix frozen credit markets. Technology stocks, on the other hand, lost ground following weak earnings results from sector giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, at one point up some 164 points and at another down 161 points, ended the session with a gain of 36.47 points, or 0.4%, at 8479.86. The S&P 500 added 5.6 points, or 0.7%, to 857.41, but the Nasdaq dropped 7.29 points, or 0.5%, to 1464.73.

An opening rally by the major averages followed the Fed's announcement that it would use $600 billion to buy direct obligations and mortgage-backed securities tied to the Federal Home Loan Banks and Fannie Mae (FNM Quote), Freddie Mac (FRE Quote) and Ginnie Mae. ...