US stocks tick higher after Obama deficit plan

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>> Obama proposes $4 trillion in deficit cuts

Surges in tech stocks pushed the Nasdaq Composite ahead of other gauges, while JPMorgan Chase's solid earnings report was overshadowed by worries about its mortgage assets portfolio.

Meanwhile other banks were hit by a Fed call for banks to tighten up their mortgage procedures and warned of looming fines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added a slight 7.41 points (0.06 per cent) to finish at 12,270.99, while the broader S&P 500 picked up a scant 0.25 point (0.02 per cent) at 1,314.41.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 16.73 (0.61 per cent) to 2,761.52.

After trading lower at midday, the markets found inspiration in Obama's speech detailing a plan to reduce the US deficit by $4 trillion -- a plan that doubled as his 2012 re-election challenge to rival Republicans.

Obama proposed wielding a "scalpel and not a machete" on health care costs, the military and some bedrock social programs, contrasting his approach with Republicans' heavy-handededness.

But the president's plan also challenged Democrats to accept that cuts are inevitable.

Meanwhile the Fed's Beige Book, issued around the same time, confirmed the economy was growing on a broad base around the country, though at an "only moderate" pace in many regions.

"Higher commodity costs were widely reported to be putting increasing pressures on prices," the bank said.

The markets opened higher in the morning buoyed by JPMorgan's 67 per cent jump in earnings per share for the first quarter.

But the details of the bank's asset quality forced its price down -- it closed off 0.84 per cent for the day.

"The bank had to overcome flat loan growth and CEO Jamie Dimon said he sees 'extraordinarily high' mortgage-related losses continuing for a while," said Scott Marcouiller at Wells Fargo Advisors.

Other big banks named by the Fed as needing to fix their mortgage processing under threat of fines were losers as well: Citigroup (-1.1 per cent); Bank of America (-1.5 per cent) and Wells Fargo (-2.3 per cent).

Nasdaq was pumped up by Dell's 4.9 per cent gain, on anticipation of a good 2011, a 1.0 per cent jump in Google ahead of its earnings, and Riverbed Technology's 12.4 per cent surge on its promising first-quarter results.

The bond market rose slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.47 per cent, down from 3.50 per cent on Tuesday, while that on the 30-year bond stood at 4.55 per cent, from 4.58 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.