US stocks dip

US stocks closed marginally lower today after a session of seesaw trading and profit-taking following a two-day rally.

Stocks opened lower, swung to a gain after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book of regional economic conditions said US inflation was in check and then dropped as the session neared its close.

Consumer discretionary and industrial stocks finished lower as investors sold off Amazon.com, Boeing and United Parcel Service on disappointing earnings news.

Energy stocks gained as a spike in oil prices helped the sector. A barrel of light crude settled at 74.94, up 19 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil had advanced as much as 90 cents a barrel earlier in the session.

Health care and utility stocks also rose as investors headed into the traditionally defensive sectors, which tend to do well in a choppy economy.

In months of erratic trading, investors have frequently met one day’s advances with a selloff the next session to lock in profits. With volatility on the rise, swings of 100 points are now “the norm, not the exception”, said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.20, or 0.01%, to close at 11,102.51 after rising a total of 230 points in the first two days this week.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.48, or 0.04%, to close at 1,268.40, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 3.44, or 0.17%, to 2,070.46.