Stocks end slightly higher though rate jitters linger

(Reuters) - Wall Street eked out a small gain on Wednesday as optimism over a spate of upbeat earnings was offset by jitters over rising bond yields and corporate costs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 59.7 points, or 0.25 percent, to 24,083.83, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 4.84 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,639.4 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 3.62 points, or 0.05 percent, to 7,003.74.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Susan Thomas)