By Shanthi Venkataraman, TheStreet

 

Updated at 10:52 a.m. ET

 

U.S. stocks were rising after a successful Portugal bond auction helped ease concerns about the debt crisis in Europe.

 

At 10:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was up by 70 points, or 0.7%, at 10,410. The S&P 500 ($INX) was up by 8.5 points, or 0.8%, at 1,100. The Nasdaq ($COMPX) was rising by 21 points, or 1%, to 2,230.

  

Portugal raised more than 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in a bond auction that attracted more interest than previous sales. Increased demand boosted investors' confidence after fears about risky debt at European banks flared up Tuesday.

Most of us know the term ballot-stuffing -- where you try to rig the outcome of an election by shoving an exorbitant amount of ballots into a ballot box.

There may be something like that going on in the stock market.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro said today the agency is looking at a practice known on the street as "quote stuffing" to assess whether it violates "existing rules against fraudulent or other improper behavior."

• How much risk can you handle?

The practice involves trading in which unusually large numbers of orders to buy or sell stocks are placed in a fraction of a second, only to be canceled almost immediately.

While the market was broadly lower today -- and volume was light, a number companies had some fairly violent moves.

Here's a rundown:

Casey’s General Stores (CASY) rose 9.9% to $42.76. The convenience-store chain has received a “preliminary proposal” from a “strategic third party” to acquire the company for $40 a share in cash. Casey’s said its board unanimously recommended holders vote against Alimentation Couche-Tard's revised offer at $38.50 a share, saying it "substantially undervalues" the company.

Lincoln National (LNC) fell 4.5% to $24.91. It had hit as low as $24.41. The Treasury announced plans to sell warrants in the company and Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) as the insurers complete their exit from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Hartford Financial was off 4% to $21.62.

Updated at 8:31 p.m. ET

 

Investors came back to the U.S. stock market today -- and sold. The selling was enough to drive the Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) back into the red for the year. And as investors sold stocks, they bought gold, pushing the metal to new highs. 

The Dow closed down 107 points, or 1%, to 10,341. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was off 13 points, or 1.2%, to 1,092, and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) fell 25 points, or 1.1%, to 2,209. Trading volume was extremely light.

• See what a better broker can do for you

Gold for December delivery was up $8.20 to $1,259.30 an ounce. On gold for October delivery, the close was $1258.30, up $8.10. The closes for October and December are record highs.

Crude oil fell $1.12 to $73.48. The dollar was higher against major currencies.

By Andrea Tse, TheStreet

 

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), a distributor of Coca-Cola (KO) products, increased its full-year earnings forecast and said it expects to close the sale of its North American operations to Coca-Cola in the fourth quarter.

 

The company lifted its full-year earnings forecast to $1.78 to $1.82 a share from $1.73 to $1.77. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.81.

 

Coca-Cola has agreed to buy Coca-Cola Enterprises' North American business for $3.4 billion, taking on $8.88 billion in debt. Coca-Cola Enterprises will buy Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Norway and Sweden for $822 million.