NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks turned higher on Wednesday, as upbeat results and guidance from computer maker Hewlett-Packard lifted technology shares while ongoing concerns about ailing financial firms kept a lid on the broad market. Also helping, crude oil prices rose but lost some earlier gains after data showing a build in weekly inventories. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 38 points, or 0.3%, at 11,384. The S&P 500 index rose 5.2 points to 1,271, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.4 points to 2,397. The market received an early boost from upbeat results from Hewlett-Packard , which helped lift technology shares.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The American Petroleum Institute reported a rise Wednesday of 12.4 million barrels in crude supplies for the week ended August 15. The Energy Department had reported a climb of 9.4 million barrels for the latest week. Motor gasoline supplies were down 2 million barrels, the API said. The government had reported that supplies fell by 6.2 million barrels. Distillate supplies were up 313,000 barrels, the API said. They fell 500,000 barrels, according to the Energy Department.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude supplies rose by 9.4 million barrels to 305.9 million for the week ended August 15, according to the Energy Department Wednesday. Motor gasoline supplies fell by 6.2 million barrels to 196.6 million barrels. Distillate stocks were up 500,000 barrels at 132.1 million barrels. Refinery utilization was at 85.7% compared with 85.9% of capacity a week earlier. Following the news, September crude was up $1.35 at $115.88 a barrel on Globex.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Air Products and Chemicals Inc. said Wednesday it acquired Harvest Energy Technology Inc., a developer of hydrogen generation technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of mortgage and bond insurers traded lower early Wednesday as worries over the troubled credit and housing markets continued to grip markets. Shares of Radian Group Inc. fell sharply, losing about 15% in early trade. Elsewhere, MBIA Inc. , MGIC Investment Corp. and PMI Group Inc. all shed about 10%, and Ambac Financial Group Inc. lost 5%. Also, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were both down sharply on building fears they may require a government rescue.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The finance ministers of the G7 industrial countries issued a joint statement Wednesday calling for international institutions to work together for the speedy reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure of Georgia. "We, the G7, stand ready to support Georgia in order to promote the continued health of the Georgian economy, maintain confidence in Georgia's financial system and support economic reconstruction," the statement said. The statement shows the G7 has closed ranks, leaving Russia on the outside, in the wake of Russia's military move into Georgia. Separately, the National Bank of Georgia cut its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point to 11%, citing the economic impact of the war.

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LONDON (MarketWatch) -- A Spanish jet skidded off the runway and crashed at Madrid airport, wire services reported, with El Mundo reporting at least eight deaths from the incident. The plane was from Spanair, a unit of SAS .

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BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drug stocks wandered into negative territory early Wednesday while shares of PDL Biopharma gained modestly on news that it has entered into a development agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb for one of its oncology agents. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index inched down 0.4% to 311.3 and the Amex Biotechnology Index was largely flat at 857.6. Shares of PDL BioPharma were up 2% at $12.00.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to slide on Wednesday following big losses earlier this week amid increasing fears the government will take steps to rescue them. Freddie Mac's shares were last down about 20%, to $3.35, while shares of Fannie Mae were off 13% to $5.23. Shares of both companies are down more than 90% over the past year.

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday, rebounding from two straight sessions of losses, as upbeat earnings from computer-maker Hewlett-Packard helped shift the market's attention away from the credit crisis and financial-sector woes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9 points at 11,338, with 22 of its 30 components opening lower. Dow component Hewlett-Packard rose 3.8% after the company posted an 11% rise in profits and issued earnings guidance that topped analyst estimates. The S&P 500 index gained 2.4 points to 1,267, while the Nasdaq Composite rose fractionally to 2,384.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks opened higher Wednesday, riding a second day of firmer crude-oil prices ahead of the Energy Department's weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories. Early trades moved the Amex Oil Index up 1.3% while the Amex Natural Gas Index was ahead 2.2% and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index was up 1.7%. Crude for September delivery waas last trading at $116.46, up $1.93 from the previous session.

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Retail shares opened in mixed trading Wednesday as BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. dropped after its second-quarter profit without the benefit of a tax settlement would have declined. The S&P Retail Index fell 0.2% to 382.29. BJ's shares dropped 6.3%.

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell 5% at the open Wednesday, headlining losers among financial sector stocks as the broader sector opened marginally lower. Lehman Brothers fell 3.4% as the New York Post reported that the investment bank failed to reach a deal with South Korean wealth funds and insitutions to raise capital. The top gainer in early action was Wachovia Corp. , whose shares rose 1% at the open. The Financial Select Sector SPDR , an ETF which tracks financials in the S&P 500, lost 0.5%, while the Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index also shed 0.7% in early morning trading.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. led the tech sector north in early trading Wednesday, as the tech giant's shares rose $1.52, or 3.5%, to $45.21. H-P benefited from a strong third-quarter report and fouth-quarter outlook that it gave late Tuesday. Other tech stocks on the rise included Apple Inc. , IBM Corp. , Microsoft Corp. and Dell Inc. . The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.4 points to 2,393.

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Airlines were under pressure early Wednesday after a jump in the price of oil. At last check, the Amex Airline Index fell 1.5% to 24.11 with all but two of its 14 components in the red. Oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.60 to $116.15, as traders waited for the latest data on U.S. crude inventories due later in the session. All the network carriers were down, with United parent UAL Corp. , Northwest and US Airways each off more than 6%. Bucking the trend were shares of SkyWest and Tam SA , each up a fraction.

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