New York – Stocks closed narrowly mixed Monday as investors looked past rising oil prices and awaited a sample of first-quarter earnings from Alcoa Inc. after the closing bell.
There were no new economic reports to feed the market’s obsession with whether the Federal Reserve will extend its series of interest-rate hikes to fight inflation. Recent trading has been skittish amid investors’ split opinions on how much growth the economy can manage.
A fresh rise in crude oil pushed futures above $68 a barrel, as the market grew nervous about mounting political tension over Iran’s nuclear-arms program. A barrel of light crude jumped $1.35 to settle at $68.74 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“I think one of the conundrums the market faces is that we continue to see energy prices go higher,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst for Jefferies & Co. “It’s going to be hard to get the market to rally much this week with oil starting at $68.”
Hogan said the weakening bond market may also hinder investors’ confidence but added that Wall Street could see a lift from solid corporate earnings.
Alcoa led the way with a sharply better- than-expected quarterly profit, which augured well for the start of today’s session.
At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.29, or 0.19 percent, to 11,141.33, after gaining as much as 65 points earlier in the day.
Broader stock indicators were narrowly mixed.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.12, or 0.09 percent, to 1,296.62, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 5.75, or 0.25 percent, to 2,333.27.
Bonds were flat following last week’s plunge, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note unchanged at 4.96 percent from late Friday.
The dollar was mostly lower against most major currencies; gold prices lingered near a 25-year high of $600 per ounce.
