US markets tentatively higher

U.S. stock indexes turned higher Wednesday with help from a Department of Labor report revising second quarter productivity to a higher estimate. The estimate a month ago put U.S. productivity up 1.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the second quarter of 2011. The new estimate released Wednesday put productivity up 2.2 percent, which was higher than expected. The report held more sway than a Markit report that said Europe's Purchasing Managers Index for service-oriented businesses fell to 47.2 percent in August from July's 47.5 percent. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 43.14 points or 0.33 percent to 13,079.08. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index added 4.54 points or 0.15 percent to 3,079.60. The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 2.37 points or 0.17 percent to 1,407.31. The benchmark 10-year treasury was yielding 1.576 percent. The euro rose $1.2591 from Tuesday's $1.2565. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 78.39 yen from 78.41 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 255 index lost 1.09 percent, 95.69 points, to 8,679.82.