NEW YORK — The stock market is holding up, just not pressing ahead, as economic signs look a little less promising.
Stocks had a fourth straight day of minimal moves Wednesday as commodity prices slid and orders for big-ticket manufactured goods fell, injecting uncertainty into the market.
Investors are uneasy but aren’t giving up on stocks. The Dow Jones industrials lost 26 points Wednesday, and major indexes are still up about 11 percent since mid-July. Analysts say the market’s buoyancy after such a big gain is a welcome sign of stability but also that more good news is needed for stocks to resume their climb.
For now, though, investors are finding more reasons for concern.
The price of oil and other commodities fell for a third day after stocks tumbled in China on fears that growth there would slow. That could hurt demand for several commodities.
The Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories for manufactured goods — those expected to last at least three years — fell an unexpectedly steep 2.5 percent in June. The slide reflected troubles in the auto industry and a drop in demand for commercial aircraft. It was the largest drop in five months and was worse than the 0.6 percent analysts expected.
Lackluster demand at a government debt auction for the second straight day fanned worries that rising interest rates could hobble a recovery. That boded poorly for a big auction of seven-year Treasury notes today.
Traders are facing an intense seven-day run of economic reports that will help shape views about how quickly the United States can pull out of the longest recession since World War II. Today, weekly unemployment figures are due, and a reading of gross domestic product for the April-June quarter comes Friday. Next week, reports are expected on manufacturing, housing, employment and the service industry.
The Dow fell 26 points, 0.3 percent, to 9,070.72. The Dow also fell Tuesday after a weak reading on consumer confidence. The two-day drop was the first for the Dow in more than a month, but the average is on pace to record its best July in 20 years.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4.47, 0.5 percent, to 975.15, while the Nasdaq composite index slid 7.75, 0.4 percent, to 1,967.76.
Manny Weintraub, president of Integre Advisors in New York, said some good numbers could bring out more buyers because investors are betting on what the economy will look like in the coming months, not what it looks like now.
“As long as things are getting better, the market can go up,” Weintraub said.
Investors took some comfort from a Federal Reserve report that found the economy is showing early signs of stabilizing in some parts of the country.
