By Kate Gibson
U.S. stocks wavered mostly lower Tuesday, as rising commodities
lifted natural-resource companies and investors awaited the release
of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy-setting
meeting.
The mild retrenchment came with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI) not far from the psychological 11,000 level, which has not
been topped since late September 2008.
On Tuesday, the Dow industrials were off 18.07 points at
10,955.48, with 17 of its 30 components in the red. The losses were
led by Travelers Cos. (TRV) and Intel Corp. (INTC), with shares of
each down more than 1%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) declined nearly 1 point to 1,186.9,
with telecommunications and consumer staples down the most and
financials and materials gaining.
"Thirty-three percent of the S&P 500 moves with commodity
prices, and today we got a decoupling of the currency-commodity
relationship," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies
& Co., said of the trend that has had commodities moving in the
opposite direction of the U.S. dollar.
Crude futures edged higher to $86.66 a barrel, while gold
futures advanced nearly $4 to $1,137.70 an ounce.
The dollar index (DXY), which contrasts the greenback against
six currency rivals, was up 0.6% at 81.58, while Treasurys advanced
ahead of the government's sale of $40 billion in 3-year notes.
Curbing enthusiasm in the technology sector, CA Inc. (CA) shares
fell 5.2% after the maker of business software said it would cut
about 1,000 jobs and forecast 2010 results would be at the low end
of its forecast.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) added half a point to
2,429.94.
Shares of Massey Energy Co. (MEE) fell 10.2% after a blast on
Monday has left at least 25 miners dead at one of the company's
sites in West Virginia. .
Decliners and advancers were nearly even on the New York Stock
Exchange, where 418 million shares had exchanged hands as of 12:40
p.m. Eastern. Composite volume stood at 2.1 billion shares.