Stocks hold to tight range after financials rise, tech slips; Fed downplays wording on rates

Stocks trade in tight range after financials rise

NEW YORK — The stock market edged higher Tuesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting signaled that policymakers are more upbeat about the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 5 points in late afternoon trading. Broader indexes also rose.

Stocks briefly moved up after the Fed meeting minutes indicated that the economy is improving and that inflation remains low.

Investors are looking for signs that the recovery will continue to maintain the market’s climb. On Friday, the government said the economy added jobs in March at the fastest pace in three years.

On Monday, the Dow came within 12 points of reaching the psychological milestone of 11,000 for the first time since September 2008, before the credit crisis peaked. The afternoon advance Tuesday put 11,000 within striking distance.

Trading remained subdued. Shares of regional banks rose following upbeat comments from analysts. Tech stocks fell after business software company CA Inc. said earnings for the year will come in at the lower end of its forecast. CA also said it would cut 1,000 jobs, or about 8 percent of its work force.

Shares of Massey Energy Co. fell more than 10 percent after an underground explosion Monday afternoon blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners about 30 miles south of Charleston, W.Va. Four others were missing Tuesday following the explosion about 1.5 miles from the entrance to Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine. It was the worst U.S. mining disaster since 1984.

Most trading was quiet. The stock market has been rising for 13 months but has made steadier advances since February following reports that signal the economy is slowly improving. There have been few pauses during the recent gains that have seen the Dow rise in each of the past five weeks, its longest winning streak since mid-April last year.

“You’ve got kind of firm legs under the economic rebound which makes firmer legs under the stock market’s rebound,” said Jason D. Pride, direct or investment strategy at Glenmede in Philadelphia.

In the final half-hour of trading, the Dow fell 5.14, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,968.41. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.96, or 0.2 percent, to 1,189.40. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.06, or 0.3 percent, to 2,437.59.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.96 percent from 3.99 percent late Monday.

The 10-year yield climbed above 4 percent during trading Monday for the first time since June. It is approaching levels not seen since October 2008.

The Treasury Department auctioned $40 billion in three-year notes on Tuesday. Demand was down slightly from an auction last month.

The dollar rose against other major currencies. Gold rose.

Crude oil rose 22 cents to $86.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reaching an 18-month high of $87.09 a barrel.

Among stocks, Regions Financial rose 39 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $8.58 after Credit Suisse raised its price target on the bank.

Shares of SunTrust Banks Inc. rose after Credit Suisse said foreign banks could see SunTrust as an attractive takeover target. The stock rose 78 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $28.52.

CA shares fell 41 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $23.44.

Massey shares fell $5.98, or 10.9 percent, to $48.71.

Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 682.6 million shares compared with 640.7 million traded at the same point Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.85, or 0.6 percent, to 701.50.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.5 percent.