The Dow Jones industrial average was up 3.97 points at 5,630.85, after spending almost the entire day in negative territory.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by about 6 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,049 up, 1,275 down and 782 unchanged. Big Board volume totaled 368.29 million shares vs. 402.35 million on Wednesday.

Broad-market indexes were mostly higher. The NYSE composite was up 0.19 at 348.28. The S&P 500 list gained 0.03 to end at 648.94. At the American Stock Exchange the market value index was down 2.44 at 566.15.

The Nasdaq composite was up 0.96 at 1,094.84 as technology shares, which bucked market trend yesterday to end higher, were mixed.

Bonds slid for a second day, with the 30-year Treasury bond losing about one-half point after dragging stocks lower Wednesday with a drop of more than one point. The yield, which moves opposite price, rose to about 6.72 percent.

"As long as bonds stay sloppy like this, it won't provide any lift for the stock market like it did in the early part of this year," said Dick McCabe, chief market analyst at Merrill Lynch.

Rising interest rates can hurt the outlook for stocks by raising borrowing costs for companies.

Cyclical stocks, issues in industries that are expected to benefit from a stronger economy, performed well among the Dow industrials. Chemical maker DuPont and aluminum producer Alcoa were among the Dow's biggest gainers.