Mixed day for US stocks

Wall Street had a mixed day after investors, uneasy about the US government’s forthcoming inflation data, cashed in some of their gains from the market’s months-long rally.

Blue chip stocks managed a modest increase, thanks to DaimlerChrysler AG’s announcement that it will sell 80.1% of money-losing Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management LP, a private equity group, for $7.4bn (€5.46bn).

The deal, which lifted stocks in the automotive sector, undoes a 1998 merger aimed at creating a global auto giant.

The news buoyed the Dow Jones industrial average briefly to a new trading high, but the overall stock market dipped, with many investors wary ahead of tomorrow’s release of the Labour Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation.

Jack Caffrey, equities strategist at JP Morgan Private Bank, said: “People are waiting to get a better read on some of the pricing data. It does seem like there’s a bit of a holding pattern.”

The market expects the April CPI to have risen 0.5%, slower than in March, but it anticipates the core figure – which strips out food and energy prices – will increase 0.2%, a slightly larger jump than March’s increase of 0.1%.

Data indicating that consumer costs are rising much faster could frustrate investors hoping for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve later in the year.

On Wall Street, the Dow advanced 20.56, or 0.15%, to 13,346.78, after rising in the morning to a trading record of 13,383.76.

Broader stock indicators fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 2.70, or 0.18%, at 1,503.15, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 15.78, or 0.62%, to 2,546.44.

Bonds fell slightly, as many investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s economic data, which will include the National Association of Home Builders’ housing market index.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note edged up to 4.69% from 4.68% late on Friday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

DaimlerChrysler rose 2.12, or 2.6%, to 84.12. Other car-makers advanced as well, boosted by the Chrysler deal: General Motors, one of the 30 Dow components, rose 1.16, or 3.9%, to 30.62. Ford rose 34 cents, or 4.1%, to 8.71.

Other takeover news today included Cardinal Health’s agreement to buy Viasys Healthcare for $1.42bn (€1.04bn). Viasys rose 11.63, or 36.9%, to 43.18, and Cardinal Health rose 12 cents to 69.19.

Merger-and-acquisition activity has played a big role in the stock market’s surge over the past several months, as investors consider it a good sign that corporate America is faring well amid the nation’s economic slowdown.

But caution ahead of tomorrow’s data dampened today’s takeover excitement.

Tomorrow will not only bring inflation and housing reports, but also quarterly financial results - notably from DaimlerChrysler, and Dow components Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot.

Last week, same-store sales figures suggested that consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity, is waning.

Wal-Mart reported on Thursday that April’s US sales decline was its worst monthly slide since the world’s largest retailer began reporting same-store sales results in 1980.

Neil Massa, equity trader at John Hancock Funds, said: “I think right now the deals going on in the market are helping more than the consumer.”

The stock market is not as dependent on a strong consumer as gross domestic product is, noted Mr Caffrey. But any negative surprises could cause a sell-off in stocks, considering how far they have climbed in such a short time.

The Dow has hit 21 record closes since the beginning of the year.

“The volatility should be higher than it has been. Ultimately, we think at year-end things will be higher than they are today, but there will be bumps along the way,” Mr Caffrey said.

The average US retail petrol price climbed to a record high of 3.07 a gallon (81 cents a litre), according to AAA, surpassing levels seen after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast.

Crude oil rose 9 cents to $62.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Today, declining issues outnumbered advancers by seven to four on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.39 billion shares, down from 1.41 billion on Friday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 7.21, or 0.87%, to 822.33.