Stocks ended the day higher on Wednesday as Wall Street was calmed by lower oil prices and a government economic report showing the trade deficit narrowed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19.14, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,300.25. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 4.89, or 0.4 percent, at 1,171.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 8.78, or 0.5 percent, to 1,971.55.

Oil prices fell as the government reported a larger-than-expected stockpile of oil and gasoline. A barrel of light crude settled at $50.45, down $1.62, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

And the U.S. trade deficit fell unexpectedly to $55 billion in March as exports hit a record and imports from China declined, a Commerce Department government report showed. The gap between what the U.S. imports and what it sells to foreign countries narrowed by 9.2 percent in March to $55 billion, down from the record monthly deficit of $60.6 billion set in February.

Among local movers, Ihop Corp. gained 0.9 percent to $43.85 after the Glendale-based company’s stock was rated “market perform” in new coverage by analyst Sue Perram at Avondale Partners LLC. The 12-month price target was set at $42 per share.

On the down side, shares of Napster Inc. plummeted 26.8 percent to $4.65 as Yahoo Inc. launched a new music subscription service, taking aim at leaders in the booming world of digital music downloads. Yahoo’s service, which underprices competitors such as L.A.-based Napster Inc., debuts today for as low as $4.99 a month with a one-year subscription. Napster-To-Go service is $15 per month.

PC Mall Inc. fell 24.1 percent to $3.87 after the Torrance-based computer hardware and accessory supplier’s stock was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by analyst Brion D. Tanous at Merriman Curhan Ford & Co.

And Molina Healthcare Inc. lost 11.8 percent to $38.95 after the Long Beach-based company that arranges health-care services for Medicaid recipients said in an SEC filing that it lost contracts with two California counties worth a combined $111 million in annual revenue. The California Department of Health Services said Tuesday it would give the contracts Molina had in Riverside and San Bernardino counties to another health-care manager.