U.S. stocks rebound Thursday

NEW YORK, April 8 (UPI) -- Markets in Asia and Europe tipped lower Thursday, but major U.S. indexes pulled ahead after early losses sparked by a drop in U.S. consumer credit activity.

A U.S. Federal Reserve report issued Wednesday afternoon showed consumer credit dropped 5.5 percent on an annual basis, declining by $11.5 billion in February. Economists had expected consumer activity to rise slightly.

On Thursday, equity markets closed lower in Japan, China, India and Hong Kong. In midday trading, stocks indexes were off in France, Germany, Italy and Britain.

By mid-afternoon on Wall Street, stocks found some traction. At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average added 29.55 points, 0.27 percent, to 10,927.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.34 percent, 3.99 points, to 1,186.44. The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.23 percent, 5.65 points, to 2,436.81.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,559 stocks advanced and 1,440 declined on a volume of 4.7 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 7/32 to yield 3.888 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3351 from Wednesday's $1.3354. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 93.35 yen from Wednesday's 93.30 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.1 percent, 124.63, to 11,168.20.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.86 percent, 49.36, to 5,712.70.