Wall Street ended its string of ugly selloffs but failed to muster much of a rebound on Thursday even as crude oil prices finally cooled off. 

Today's Market

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.43 points, or 0.19% to 12625.62, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 3.64 points, or 0.26%, to 1394.35 and the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 16.31 points, or 0.67%, to 2464.58. The consumer-friendly Fox 50 rose 3.69 points, or 0.38%, to 980.72.

While the stock market was able to hold onto its modest gains, it ended the day well off its earlier highs. It wasn't much of a rebound considering the Dow had lost more than 420 points over the prior two days its worst such stretch since late February. 

A day after a steep 4.7% selloff, Citigroup (C) rebounded 3.1% to help lead the Dow on Thursday. Not far behind were insurer AIG (AIG) and American Express (AXP), picking up around 2% each. 

On the downside, Pfizer (PFE) declined 1.1% on a negative report about its anti-smoking drug Chantix and General Motors (GM) fell 3.6%.

The Nasdaq Composite, which advanced further than the broader market, ended its four-day losing streak. Level 3 Communications (LVLT) jumped 11.4% on an analyst upgrade from Wachovia to lead the Nasdaq 100, helping to offset some of a 6.5% dive for Akamai Technologies (AKAM), which was hurt by an analyst downgrade. 

Other tech names like chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and computer maker Dell (DELL) also rose on Thursday. 

Crude oil prices, the main culprit for the market's disappointing performance so far this week, remain a focal point for Wall Street. After soaring more than $4 during Wednesday's trading and then touching $135 a barrel overnight, crude prices finally backed off. Oil closed at $130.81 a barrel in New York, down $2.36 on the day. 

“Even though oil is down a little bit it’s just provided the market with a dead count bounce. Tomorrow might be the same way going into Memorial Day weekend," said Todd Clark, director of trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners in San Francisco. 

Not surprisingly, the lower oil prices fueled selling in big-name energy stocks like ExxonMobil (XOM) and Hess (HES). The sector as a whole lost about 1% of its value on Thursday. However, it has jumped about 18% over the past month alone. 

The decline in oil prices comes even after a report in The Wall Street Journal said the International Energy Agency, the world's foremost energy monitor, is expected to sharply cut its oil-supply forecast. Crude prices have already doubled from a year ago and some are saying they could even reach $150 to $200 a barrel.

No sector of the economy has been hurt by the record oil prices as much as the airlines. The sector failed to post much of a comeback on Thursday even with the lower oil prices. A day ago American Airlines (AMR) and United (UAUA) lost nearly a quarter of their value and the group as a whole lost 12% of its market value. 

The day's lone major economic report, weekly unemployment claims, was slightly better-than-expected. The Labor Department said initial claims declined by 9,000 to 365,000 last week, compared to estimates of a smaller 1,000 claim decline. However, continuing claims lasting more than four weeks remained at a four-year high of 3.1 million.

While most financial stocks were trading higher on Thursday, three key names were hurt by a downgrade from analyst Dick Bove at Ladenburg. Bove cut Goldman Sachs (GS), Merrill Lynch (MER) and Lehman Brothers (LEH) to "sell.” The downgrades come just a few days after influential Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney predicted the credit crisis will go on for longer than some had thought

“There are some concerns about the financials again. We may have just seen the eye of the hurricane” with more bad news to come, said Clark.

Corporate Movers

Ford (F) dropped 8.2% after it released a lower profit outlook and plans to slash production of several large trucks and SUVs. The auto maker no longer expects to turn a profit in 2009, now forecasting to break even next year. The production cuts, which represent 15% in the second quarter and up to 20% in the third, come “as gas prices soar.”

Pfizer (PFE) was under pressure from news about its anti-smoking drug Chantix, which was banned by the Federal Aviation Administration after a nonprofit group warned of serious side effects, including dizziness, seizures and loss of consciousness. Pfizer reiterated its position on Chantix’s safety even after the Institute for Safe Medication Practices’ report. Pfizer brought in $277 million from Chantix during the first quarter, up 72% from a year ago.

Calpine (CPN), a San Jose and Houston-based power company, rose 8.1% to a 52-week high after NRG Energy (NRG) offered to buy it for $11.3 billion in stock. The all-stock deal values Calpine at $22.70 per share based on its Wednesday closing price and comes just four months after Calpine emerged from bankruptcy protection. NRG said it expects to lower expenses by $100 million annually by cutting duplicative jobs and overlapping operations. 

Moody's (MCO) fell by another 6.5% on Thursday, continuing its slide in the fallout from a report that a computer error at the ratings agency led to erroneously high ratings on complex securities in Europe. The Financial Times broke the news of the potentially unwarranted "AAA" ratings, which could have given investors false confidence in the securities. The newspaper also cited Moody's internal documents indicating that executives may have been aware of the error early last year. The Connecticut attorney general is reportedly examining the matter and Sen. Charles Schumer has called on the SEC to investigate as well. 

Barnes & Noble (BKS) posted a loss of $2.2 million, or 4 cents per share, in the first quarter and also cut its 2008 sales outlook to “slightly negative.” Excluding one-times items, the bookseller earned 5 cents per share, in line with estimates. Despite the lower sales forecast, Barnes & Noble still expects to earn $1.70 to $1.90 per share in 2008, compared to mean estimates for $1.79 a share.

Borders (BGP) responded to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday saying the bookseller could be sold to Barnes & Noble. Borders said it has not engaged in "substantive discussions regarding any specific transaction to date" but is still "in the midst of the strategic alternatives process." Borders said it would be open to offers in March. 

BCE (BCE), the parent of Bell Canada, slid 12.5% after an appeals court rejected a proposed buyout from the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. The court sided with BCE bondholders to block the $35.1 billion takeover, which would have been the largest leveraged buyout in Canadian history.

World Market

The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a gauge of the 50 biggest companies in Europe, fell 1.10 points, or 0.03%, to 3793.03. The FTSE 100, London's benchmark index, lost 16.50 points, or 0.27%, to 6181.60.

On the continent, Paris's CAC 40 Index rose 1.19 points, or 0.02%, to 5028.74 while Germany's DAX picked up 29.50 points, or 0.42%, to 7070.33.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Index gained 52.16 points to 13978.46. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 417.17 points to 25043.12.