US stocks wobbled higher today as investors mulled troubled investment giant Lehman Brothers' news of hefty losses and plans to sell assets to shore up its finances.
A day after steep declines for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a modest 37.54 points (0.33 per cent) to 11,268.27 at the closing bell.
The technology studded Nasdaq composite climbed 18.89 points (0.85 per cent) to 2,228.70 and the broad market Standard & Poor's 500 index added 7.23 points (0.59 per cent) to a preliminary close of 1,231.74.
The market action came a day after a downdraft on Wall Street, fuelled by worries that Lehman might become the next domino in the financial system to fall.
Shares in Lehman, which slid nearly 45 per cent yesterday, saw volatile trade and were down 2.5 per cent ahead of the close.
Before the market open, Lehman announced an estimated $US3.9 billion ($A4.88 billion) loss in its fiscal third quarter on further writedowns from the real estate meltdown as it took a series of restructuring actions including plans to sell commercial real estate and investment management arms.
"Investors were able to find some comfort in Lehman Brothers' announcement," said Colleen King at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
