Market rebounds on Disney, Time Warner earnings

By Jennifer Coogan

Adding another ray of hope, the Labor Department reported higher worker productivity and a less-than-expected increase in an inflation measure during last year's fourth quarter.

"Earnings are coming in OK, excluding financials," said Richard Steinberg, president and chief investment officer of Steinberg Global Asset Management Ltd in Boca Raton, Florida. "There's a lot of institutional cash around and with (bond) yields as low as they are, there's really no other place to be."

Manufacturers such as Caterpillar Inc staged a comeback after suffering sharp losses on Tuesday amid recession fears.

Not all media shares fared so well. Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp posted results that fell far short of analysts' expectations because of a charge for its online mortgage service, LendingTree.

Caterpillar shares climbed 1.8 percent to $68.76.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)