Stocks hold to tight range after reports on inflation, jobs, leading economic indicators

Stocks trade mixed after price, jobs reports

NEW YORK — The stock market made mostly modest moves Thursday after reports that pointed to an economy that’s slowly regaining strength.

The reports showed that inflation remains in check, jobless claims are inching lower and other economic indicators are modestly improving.

At the same time, concern about economic troubles in Greece flared again after the country said it might turn to the International Monetary Fund for support if European leaders can’t agree to a bailout plan next week. That helped keep the market’s gains in check.

“The market has been grinding higher on what has been benignly positive news,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Investments. “There is a growing sense the economy is plodding along in the right direction.”

In late afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial average rose 37.94, or 0.4 percent, to 10,771.61. The Dow has risen for seven straight days.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.07, or 0.1 percent, to 1,165.14, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.90, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,389.99.

Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.68 percent from 3.64 percent late Wednesday.

A drop in oil prices dragged down energy companies like ExxonMobil Corp.

Manufacturing companies, like 3M Co., got a boost after a report showed the industry expanded in the Mid-Atlantic region for the seventh straight month in March.

The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index was unchanged in February. Excluding volatile energy and food prices, the CPI rose 0.1 percent. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast a rise of 0.1 percent in both measures of inflation.

The weakness in the economy has kept prices in check because many factories aren’t running at full capacity and businesses don’t have much ability to raise prices without hurting sales.

It was the second straight day the Labor Department reported tame inflation figures. On Wednesday, it said that wholesale prices barely rose in February.

The Federal Reserve repeated this week that it expects inflation to remain low for now. That will allow the central bank to keep interest rates low to help revive lending and boost the economy. Low rates are also favorable for stocks and other riskier investments like commodities.

The Labor Department also said Thursday that initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 457,000 last week. Although the drop was short of expectations, it was the third straight week of declines.

Initial claims have hovered around the 450,000 mark in recent weeks, which Gayle called a “tipping point” between employers adding or cutting jobs.

Economists expect that March will be only the second month to show job growth since the recession began in December 2007.

Meanwhile, a gauge of future economic activity rose at its slowest pace in 11 months, signaling that a recovery could be slow. The Conference Board’s index of leading indicators rose 0.1 percent in February, matching expectations.

Economic reports have largely been meeting expectations in recent weeks, leaving little room for quick gains or losses on very upbeat or discouraging reports. Stocks have been grinding higher over the past five weeks, with the Dow up about 825 points in that time. All three major indexes closed Wednesday at their highest levels since 2008.

The renewed concerns about Greece brought a reminder that the calm likely won’t last.

“That’s why you’re seeing a little bit of resistance,” Greg Merlino, president of Ameriway Financial Services. “Whenever we hear Greece, we get this knee-jerk reaction, is this the first domino to fall?”

The dollar rose against the euro and other currencies. Gold rose slightly.

Improved earnings reports gave the market some support.

FedEx Corp. said its fiscal third-quarter profit more than doubled. It also raised its full-year earnings forecast, which brought it in line with analysts’ expectations.

FedEx is considered a bellwether for the economy because of the variety of products it ships. The stock rose $2.44, or 2.7 percent, to $92.24.

Nike Inc. shares spiked a day after the athletic apparel maker said its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose from sales growth in emerging markets. Nike jumped $3.35, or 4.7 percent, to $74.23.

ExxonMobil slipped 2 cents to $67.34. 3M rose $1.22 to $83.40.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 625.8 million shares, compared with 700.5 million traded at the same point Wednesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.96, or 0.4 percent, to 681.02.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell less than 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX index dropped 0.2 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1 percent.