NEW YORK — The stock market closed narrowly mixed Monday after a strong earnings report from Caterpillar offset investors’ concerns about financial regulation.
The Dow Jones industrial average, supported by Caterpillar, eked out a gain of less than 1 point. Broader market indexes fell modestly.
Banking shares fell as negotiations on financial-overhaul legislation continued in Washington.
Caterpillar, whose results are seen as an economic indicator, reported earnings that beat analysts’ expectations after a one-time charge related to health care. The company said economic conditions are “definitely improving” and that orders for its heavy equipment are significantly higher than last year.
Investors also got some good news from Whirlpool, which said profits doubled on higher sales of appliances in the U.S. and other countries. That’s a signal that consumer spending is picking up.
News that car-rental company Hertz agreed to buy rival Dollar Thrifty also helped stocks.
But investors showed caution throughout the day. A series of upbeat earnings reports have sent stocks steadily higher over the past week, and many analysts believe that strong corporate earnings results are already priced into the market.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at the brokerage Avalon Partners in New York, said the market is “perhaps defying logic at this point and nevertheless moving up.”
“We will be headed for some sort of a pullback, which could happen at any time,” Cardillo said, adding he doesn’t think it will be too steep, maybe 5 percent to 7 percent. “For the moment, the enthusiasm continues.”
The Dow rose 0.75, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,205.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.23, or 0.4 percent, to 1,212.05, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.20, or 0.3 percent, to 2,522.95.
“We are starting to see the financials crack, or get a little shaky,” Chris Hobart of Charlotte, N.C.-based Hobart Financial Group, said of bank and other financial-company stocks. “Going forward really for the next several months, we are going to see a lot of choppiness and volatility in financials, simply because we don’t know all the plans (the government) is putting together.”
