US stocks make gains

US stocks finished an uncertain session modestly higher today despite a sharp rise in crude oil prices and unease over the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting.

Crude futures rallied in afternoon trading, reversing last week’s trend and adding to worries about high energy prices as the summer driving season approaches. A barrel of light crude settled at 50.92 dollars, up 1.20 dollars, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Fed’s Open Market Committee was expected to raise the nation’s benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 3% at its meeting tomorrow. Many investors waited to see what the central bank would have to say in its economic assessment statement about the recent slowdown in economic growth and the prospects for inflation.

Yet while trading volume was lower than usual, the buying was broad based as some investors took a chance that the Fed’s statement would be bullish for the market.

“There’s a certain amount of caution which is preventing investors from putting more assets to work,” said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke LLC. ”Right now there are too many question marks about the economy that need to be answered before we can move forward.”

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 59.19, or 0.58%, to 10,251.70.

Broader stock indicators also moved higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 5.31, or 0.46%, at 1,162.16, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 7.00, or 0.36%, to 1,928.65.