US stocks end mixed

US stocks were mixed today as strong earnings from Alcoa Inc. led the Dow Jones industrials slightly higher but the Nasdaq gave up early gains as rising oil prices renewed worries about inflation and recession.

Solid earnings and outlooks from a handful of companies helped the Dow, which rose after aluminum maker Alcoa reported higher profits despite rising energy costs and lower prices for aluminum.

But the gains narrowed in afternoon trading as broader indexes fell and oil prices climbed.

Traders continue to look anxiously for signs that higher energy costs will depress corporate earnings and oil prices stoked that nervousness.

A barrel of light crude settled at US$63.60 (€53.03), up US$1.75 (€1.46), in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The markets’ behaviour is typical of an aging bull market, and this bull market, now in its fourth year, is aging, said Charles H. Blood Jr., senior financial markets analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

“Things are just more erratic, they take longer, they’re not as decisive,” he said.

The Dow rose 14.41, or 0.14%, to 10,253.17. The Dow lost 276.36 points, or 2.62%, last week, and fell another 53 points on Monday.

Broader stock indicators were slightly lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.46, or 0.21%, to 1,184.87, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 17.83, or 0.86%, to 2,061.09.