After sliding for two successive days, stocks managed to find some footing and ended Thursday with impressive gains as companies from McDonald’s to PNC Financial reported solid quarterly earnings.  A mixed bag of economic reports notwithstanding, the Dow average once again scaled the 10,000 mark as components Travelers Cos, 3M Co., and AT&T Inc. posted stronger-than-expected results.

Investors, looking for bargains, picked up financial shares as many banks noted lower loan losses.  Travelers (NYSE:TRV) surged almost 8% after reporting a three-fold jump in quarterly profit.  Travelers, together with McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), led the Dow average higher.  AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), also a Dow component, rose 0.6% after reporting better-than-expected profit.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 132 points, or 1.3%, to close at 10,081.31 and the S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 1%.  The tech-heavy NASDAQ, limited by late-session, downward guidance from eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), gained 14 points, or 0.7%.

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A bit of selling pressure sent major averages lower at the end of an otherwise upbeat week on Wall Street as Bank of America and General Electric’s numbers disappointed investors.  The Dow Jones industrial average, after closing above the 10,000 mark for two successive sessions, finished just below that level.  Despite the drop, stocks managed to post impressive gains on the week even as investors grew jittery about credit losses in the financial sector. 

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) said it lost $2.2 billion during the quarter after it wrote down almost $10 billion in bad loans and General Electric’s (NYSE:GE) revenue numbers were below Street projections.  Higher loan losses aggravated investors’ concerns as Citigroup (NYSE:C) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) had also reported higher loan losses during the quarter.  General Electric’s (NYSE:GE) results were impacted by lower earnings at its GE Capital unit.    

The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average fell

U.S. stock markets began June with solid gains as better-than-expected reports on personal income, manufacturing and construction spending propelled S&P 500 to a seven-month high.  The Nasdaq rose to its highest level this year helped by a broad based rally in stocks.  The widely expected bankruptcy filing of General Motors, the fourth largest ever, and rising interest rates failed to check the momentum. The S&P 500 surged 2.6% to 942.87, its highest close since November 5.  The DJIA rose 2.6% to 8,721.44, the highest since January 8.  On the New York Stock Exchange, almost five stocks advanced for each that declined.

General Motors' shares were delisted by the New York Stock Exchange and were dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Dow Jones said General Motors and Citigroup (NYSE:C) will be officially dropped from the average on June 8 and will be replaced by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Travelers Companies