Wall Street wobbled through a listless session and closed mixed tonight as investors awaited the results of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Modest gains in the Dow Jones industrial average were enough for the index to set new trading and closing records.

Wall Street finished its worst week of the year with a moderate decline today as persistent unease over inflation and interest rates kept investors nervous about buying.

Wall Street barrelled higher today after the Labour Department’s report of modest April job growth bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon stop hiking interest rates.

Surging gold and energy prices dragged stocks lower today as inflation fears curbed Wall Street’s enthusiasm over solid first-quarter earnings from financial services firm Citigroup Inc.

Falling consumer confidence and a smaller-than-expected rise in new jobs sent stocks lower for a second session today, with downbeat earnings from Amazon.com Inc. saddling the technology sector. The major indexes each lost more than 1% this week.

US stocks were little changed today as a slowdown in retail sales and profit warnings from Lucent Technologies and Tyco International Ltd. kept Wall Street investors from building on earlier gains. The major indexes finished the week flat.

Nervous investors collected profits and sent stocks lower today, wiping out an early advance amid conflicting signals about inflation and consumer spending.