NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street closed mixed Tuesday, recuperating from a sharp plunge as investors snapped up bargain stocks on rumors that a bond insurer rescue plan is progressing and upbeat comments from Cisco Systems Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Earlier Tuesday, the market sank after Merrill Lynch lowered its full-year earnings prediction for Citigroup Inc., which a Dubai fund executive said will need to raise more cash to stay in business. Another damper on trading was Intel Corp., which lowered its forecast for first-quarter profit margins.

But in afternoon trading, the stock market showed signs of optimism.

The financial sector regained some steam after CNBC reported that a plan to save the bond insurer Ambac Financial is advancing nicely.

Technology stocks rebounded, too, after a Dow Jones Newswires report that Cisco CEO John Chambers said he is "even more comfortable" with the long-term growth targets the company has outlined, and after Amazon.com's chief financial officer reiterated the online retailer's 2008 revenue forecast.

Oil prices rise to all-time high of almost $112 a barrel as US dollar sinks

VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices jumped to an all-time trading high of almost $112 a barrel today as the tumbling U.S. dollar and plunging stock markets prompted investors to seek shelter in commodities.

Investors fled the dollar after a surprise move Sunday by the U.S. Federal Reserve to provide cash to financially squeezed Wall Street investment houses pushed the battered dollar deeper into multiyear lows against the yen.

"The Fed's move overall will help the liquidity of the U.S. dollar, and that will really further soften the dollar," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "Meanwhile, investors seem to be just following the mantra of buying oil and commodities to hedge against the falling dollar and inflation."

Light, sweet crude for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange spiked $1.59 to a record $111.80 a barrel in electronic dealings in Asian trading.

Nigeria: Expert Advises Investors on Stocks' Trading

An investment analyst, Mr Oluwasanmi Akindipe, has urged Nigerians to take full advantage of the growing capital market by engaging in penny stocks acquisition or trading.