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It was another day of small moves for the market as investors await Friday's employment report. The Dow ended the session up by 20 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were little changed. Wall Street had its eyes on Washington as lawmakers delved into the the controversial sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase. The Federal Reserve's $30 billion role in the deal was also a much talked about subject. But leaders from Wall Street and Washington seemed to agree - the rescue of Bear Stearns, with backing from the Fed, was necessary to prevent widespread economic distress. Lawmakers are now scrambling to provide assistance to troubled homeowners. The head of Merrill Lynch says his company will not seek fresh capital, look to sell itself, or merge with another bank, according to a report out of Japan. That added to hopes the worst of the credit crunch is over. Shares of Merrill Lynch climbed 1.2 percent. BlackBerry sales continue to grow despite a weak economy. Several Wall Street analysts boosted their price targets on Research in Motion, as a result. U.S. listed shares gained nearly 9 percent. And took iPhone maker Apple higher as well. Mixed economic data kept investors on the sidelines. Weekly jobless claims showed their biggest gain in 2-1/2 years, but a contraction in the massive services sector was not a bad as predicted. Taking the pulse of the services sector.... McDonald's lost ground. But American Express and Wal-Mart finished higher. It was another volatile day in the oil pits. Crude swung in a 3 dollar range - only to finish lower. A choppy session for the dollar and worries about demand held prices down. In European trade, worries about the health of European banks resurfaced - leading the German Dax, the Paris CAC-40 and the London FTSE lower. Conway Gittens, Reuters COMPANIES MENTIONED: JP Morgan Chase, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Research in Motion, Apple SYMBOLS: JPM, BSC, MER, RIMM, AAPL