Apple's (AAPL) antenna design for the iPhone 4, the newest smart phone in its lineup, may be holding back sales of the device, according to a Piper Jaffray report today.

Apple, the largest technology company by market value, may lose up to 20% of its potential sales in the U.S. because customers are concerned about the antenna design’s effect on signal strength, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in the report.

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Munster based his analysis on a Piper Jaffray survey of 258 mobile-phone users in Minneapolis last month.

About two-thirds of the people surveyed said they were aware of the antenna design. About 20% of those said it affected their decision to buy a phone.

Updated: 7:43 p.m. ET

 

Stocks stumbled to modest gains today after the Federal Reserve saw "widespread signs" of a decelerating economy and President Obama said he wouldn't budge on letting the 2001 and 2003 tax breaks for the most affluent expire at the end of the year.

The rally saw the Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) move up as many as 86 points after Tuesday's worries about European debt problems eased. But the blue-chip index faded after the Fed's Beige Book report was released and the president spoke.

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The Dow closed up 46 points to 10,387. Today's rally regained more than 43% of Tuesday's 107-point loss. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) topped 1,100 several times during the session but closed at 1,099, up 7 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) rose 20 points to 2,229.

Stocks making big moves today included:

By Alix Steel, TheStreet

 

Updated at 3:24 p.m. ET

 

Gold prices struggled to hold Tuesday's gains as investors wavered between gold and stocks amid persistent European sovereign debt fears and a weaker U.S. dollar.

 

Gold for December delivery settled down $1.80 to $1,257.50 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold Wednesday traded as high as $1,264.70 and as low as $1,254.60. The U.S. dollar index was losing 0.4% to $82.55, while the euro was rising slightly to 1.27 against the dollar. The spot gold price was adding 60 cents, according to Kitco's gold index.

 

Meanwhile, stocks rebounded from Tuesday's trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was gaining 45 points to 10,385, the S&P 500 ($INX) was rising 7 points to 1,099, and the Nasdaq ($COMPX) was up 20 points to 2,229.

By Shanthi Venkataraman, TheStreet

 

Updated at 12:55 p.m. ET

 

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

 

At 12:55 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was up by 76 points, or 0.7%, at 10,416. The S&P 500 ($INX) was up by 11 points, or 1%, at 1,102. The Nasdaq ($COMPX) was rising by 27 points, or 1.2%, to 2,236.

  

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."

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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.