The Dow Jones industrial average rose 34,29 points to close at 6,007.02, down from a 60-point afternoon rally, but enough to break back above 6,000.
Advancers led decliners by a 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,303 up, 1,174 down and 796 unchanged. NYSE volume was 441.08 million shares vs. 383.63 million yesterday.
Broader measures were mostly higher after enduring similar gyrations, but technology shares and other more speculative sectors lagged the Dow advance, weighing down the Nasdaq market.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.24 to 701.50, and the NYSE's index rose 2.15 to 373.13. The Nasdaq index fell 12.83 to 1,203.06, and the American Stock Exchange's index fell 0.66 to 565.89.
Bond prices rallied, sending the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond - a key determinant of corporate and consumer borrowing costs - down from late yesterday's 6.83 percent to 6.68 percent. The yield last finished that low in mid-August.
Despite the allure of lower interest rates, the hesitant tone that has dominated the stock market over the past week was too strong to sustain a broad advance. Fearing unexpected jolts from this week's barrage of economic data or next Tuesday's elections, many investors have been securing profit's on the market's record-setting gains.