US stocks end higher after volatile day

US stocks finished a turbulent day mostly higher as the market bounced back from two straight days of big declines after the Fed set a likely timetable for reeling in its stimulus program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41.08 (0.28 percent) to 14,799.40. The broad-based S&P 500 added 4.24 (0.27 percent) to 1,592.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 7.39 (0.22 percent) to 3,357.25. Indices in France, Germany and the UK all opened higher, but tumbled after US Treasury interest rates move sharply higher at midday. US stocks also swooned, but later recovered after several lurches up and down throughout the day. Markets have been on edge since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the Fed planned to taper its bond-buying program later this year. "The market is trying to regain a little bit, to find its floor and is trying to find if the current levels are what it wants to hold, or whether it wants to see additional legs lower," said David Levy, portfolio manager of Kenjol Capital Management. Wells Fargo (up 2.2 percent) and Dow member Procter & Gamble (up 2.9 percent) were among the large companies that posted gains. Dow member Hewlett Packard fell 2.3 percent. Software and cloud computing company Oracle announced it was doubling its dividend and initiating a $12 billion share repurchase program, but shares still sank 9.3 percent on flat quarterly revenues, with sales falling shy of expectations. Morgan Stanley dipped 1.0 percent after announcing that it received regulatory approval to acquire the remaining 35 percent interest in wealth management division Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Holdings from Citigroup for $4.7 billion. Citigroup dropped 2.2 percent. Pharmaceutical company Allergan fell 3.7 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to "neutral." Goldman cited valuation and better options within the sector, according to Forbes.com. Bond prices continued their lurch downward. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.51 percent from 2.42 percent Thursday, while the 30-year jumped to 3.57 percent from 3.51 percent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.