New York – Nervous investors cashed in profits from a two-day rally on Wall Street on Wednesday, leaving stocks marginally lower after a session of seesaw trading.
Stocks opened lower, swung to a gain after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book of regional economic conditions said inflation was in check and then dropped as the session neared its close.
Consumer discretionary and industrial stocks finished lower as investors sold off Amazon .com Inc., Boeing Co. and UPS Inc. on disappointing earnings news.
Energy stocks gained amid a spike in oil prices.
A barrel of light crude settled at $73.94, up 19 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil had advanced as much as 90 cents a barrel earlier in the session. Health-care and utility stocks also rose as investors headed into the traditionally defensive sectors, which tend to do well in a choppy economy.
In months of erratic trading, investors have frequently met one day’s advances with a sell-off the next session to lock in profits.
With volatility on the rise, swings of 100 points are now “the norm, not the exception,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.20, or 0.01 percent, to 11,102.51 after rising a total of 230 points the first two days this week.
Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.48, or 0.04 percent, to 1,268.40, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 3.44, or 0.17 percent, to 2,070.46.
Advancing issues led decliners by roughly 9 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bonds rallied. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 5.04 percent, down from 5.07 percent Thursday. The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices rose.
