Stocks were near break even on Wednesday as strong demand for a $21 billion Treasury auction partly offset renewed worries over Greece's finances.

Greece's borrowing costs hit a new high on Wednesday after the government said the country's banks had asked for billions of euros in support and euro-zone states argued over the conditions of potential bailout loans.

But strong demand at the Treasury's auction of 10-year notes pushed yields lower, a positive for stocks as U.S. borrowing costs are kept in check and support government efforts to revive the economy.

The KBW bank index <.BKX> rose for a fifth straight session, up 0.5 percent, with Bank of America up 1.7 percent at $18.81.

Financial stocks also got a lift when Goldman Sachs raised its view on a host of regional banks, including KeyCorp , which was upgraded to buy from neutral. KeyCorp shares rose 2.7 percent to $8.70.

It seems like (Greece) is an issue every morning when we come in, said Nick Kalivas, senior equity index analyst at MF Global in Chicago.

He said part of the stock market's comeback was because of the strong Treasury auction.

There has been a segment of the trade that was worried that higher rates would derail the recovery, he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 21.53 points, or 0.20 percent, to 10,948.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dipped 0.89 of a point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,188.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 2.91 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,439.72.

U.S. stocks have scored five weeks of gains, pushing major indexes to highs not seen in a year and a half.

Shares of Massey Energy , owner of the West Virginia mine where 25 miners died in an explosion this week, lost 5.7 percent to $45.68 after Standard & Poor's said it might cut the company's ratings.

Monsanto Co fell 1.6 percent to $68.46 after the agricultural seed company reported a quarterly profit below expectations.

The Nasdaq was supported by strength in technology stocks

such as Apple Inc , up 0.9 percent at $241.71, and Cisco Systems Inc , up 1 percent at $26.48.

Palm Inc

shares jumped 18.2 percent to $4.55 in heavy volume, a run-up that traders attributed to takeover speculation.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Apple inc.