NEW YORK — Low trading volumes and a lack of economic reports kept stocks confined to a narrow range Monday. Indexes finished mixed, and bond yields were barely changed.
American Express Co. had the largest move of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average. The card issuer fell 3.4 percent to $42.50 after Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the company. The move came after the Federal Reserve last week unveiled plans to cap debit card “swipe fees” at 12 cents per transaction.
Alcoa Inc. led the Dow index with a 1.4 percent gain to $14.77.
The Dow fell 13.78, 0.1 percent, to 11,478.13. The Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index rose 3.17, 0.3 percent, to 1,247.08. The Nasdaq composite index gained 6.59, 0.3 percent, to finish at 2,649.56.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose slightly to 3.35 from 3.33 percent late Friday.
Stocks have been rising strongly in December. The Dow has gained 4.3 percent so far this month, and the S&P has hit seven new annual highs since Dec. 8.
Investors have been encouraged by improving economic data on retail sales, consumer confidence and factory production, as well as policy changes that will benefit stockholders. President Barack Obama signed a bill last week that will keep Bush-era income tax cuts in place for two more years. The law will also extend favorable tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
“The markets . . . made quite a run,” said Stephen Carl, principal and head of equity trading at the Williams Capital Group. But the tax cuts “can only go so far,” Carl said, and are unlikely to continue sending stocks higher.
Medtronic Inc. rose 0.6 percent to $37.62 after the company, the world’s largest medical device manufacturer, said its chairman and CEO will step down in April after leading the company for three years.
