US stocks end mixed

Stocks closed narrowly mixed today as investors looked past rising oil prices and awaited a sample of first-quarter earnings from Alcoa Inc. after the closing bell.

There were no new economic reports to feed the market’s obsession with whether the Federal Reserve will extend its series of interest rate hikes to fight inflation.

Recent trading has been skittish amid investors’ split opinions on how much growth the economy can manage.

A fresh rise in crude oil pushed futures above 68 dollars a barrel, as the market grew nervous about mounting political tension over Iran’s nuclear arms programme.

A barrel of light crude jumped 1.35 dollars to settle at 68.74 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“I think one of the conundrums the market faces is that we continue to see energy prices go higher,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst for Jefferies & Co.

“It’s going to be hard to get the market to rally much this week with oil starting at 68 dollars.”

Hogan said the weakening bond market may also hinder investors’ confidence, but added that few major companies have warned about their quarterly results, leaving potential for a solid corporate earnings season to give Wall Street a lift.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.29, or 0.19 percent, to 11,141.33, after gaining as much as 65 points earlier in the day.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.12, or 0.09%, to 1,296.62, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 5.75, or 0.25%, to 2,333.27.