Stocks extended their losses into a second day today after a cautious outlook from home builder Toll Brothers Inc. and a surge in energy prices rattled investors.

US stocks fell moderately today as investors found little reason to extend a year-end buying spree.

Wall Street closed lower in profit-taking today after the previous session’s big gain, though the market held on reasonably well despite a surprising drop in consumer confidence and a disappointing forecast from Texas Instruments Inc.

US stocks rose slightly today as crude-oil prices slid and technology stocks rose.

Stocks in the United States ended an erratic session mixed today as investors weighed slightly higher oil prices against strong earnings from companies including Verizon Communications Inc and Texas Instruments Inc.

Microchip pioneer Jack Kilby, who won the 2000 Nobel Prize for co-inventing the integrated circuits that ushered in the digital age of personal computers, mobile phones and the internet, has died after a brief battle with cancer. He was 81.

A cautious stock market finished the session mixed in the US today as a troubling top-level management shake-up at Boeing Co pressured blue chips, while technology shares saw strong buying.

Falling oil prices and a broker upgrade of the semiconductor sector pushed stocks higher today, enticing buyers back into the market after the previous session’s losses.

Investors resumed their December rally today, looking past higher oil prices and focusing instead on building up their portfolios before year’s end.