New York – Wall Street eked out small gains Tuesday as investors found solace in declining Treasury yields but remained subdued after Best Buy Co.’s lackluster profit forecast and a drop in home construction.
The 10-year Treasury note’s yield, which hit five-year highs last week, fell to 5.07 percent – alleviating some worries about high rates slowing corporate dealmaking and hurting the already-sluggish housing market.
Also lifting the stock market was a rise in General Electric Co.stock, after its GE Energy Financial Services bought a stake in Regency Energy Partners LP, a natural-gas processor and distributor, from HM Capital Partners LLC for $603 million.
The major stock indexes wavered throughout the day on concerns about flagging consumer spending when electronics chain Best Buy lowered its fiscal 2008 profit forecast, and after Commerce Department data showed construction of new homes and apartments fell 2.1 percent last month. The dip, which followed small increases in April and March, was expected and came alongside a 3 percent rise in May permit applications.
Economic data have at turns upended and supported the market in recent weeks as investors try to feel their way forward while juggling concerns about inflation, interest rates, the housing sector and the overall economy.
“After having a full plate of information to digest last week, we don’t have a lot of new incremental news. Today’s housing starts was not startling in either direction,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist and director of asset allocation for Trusco Capital Management.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 22.44, or 0.16 percent, to 13,635.42. Broader stock indicators also edged higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.65, or 0.17 percent, to 1,533.70, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.16, less than 0.01 percent, to 2,626.76.
