By Kate Gibson
U.S. stocks listed mostly upward Tuesday after the Federal
Reserve indicated it would stick to its playbook and keep interest
rates low.
"We are still in a sweet spot," Doug Roberts, chief investment
strategist for Channel Capital Research, said of an economic
climate that is improving, yet remains too troubled for central
bankers to signal a change in monetary policy.
"Unemployment is the key, it's difficult to raise rates when
unemployment is as high as it is," Roberts said.
The stock indexes rose to their highest levels of the session
after the release of the minutes from the Fed's last policy-setting
meeting, at which central bankers noted signs of a strengthening
economy along with ongoing troubled spots, namely the weak labor
market. .
Yet equities resumed treading water in the final half hour of
trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) off fractionally
at 10,973.47, with 18 of its 30 components in the green.
Aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (AA) fronted blue-chip gains, up
2.2%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 2.25 points to 1,189.69 with
financials and energy shares up the most.
"Thirty-three percent of the S&P 500 moves with commodity
prices, and today we got a decoupling of the currency-commodity
relationship," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies
& Co.
For much of the past year, commodities moved in the opposite
direction of the U.S. dollar. But on Tuesday, oil, metals and the
dollar all rose.
Crude futures gained 22 cents to end at $86.84 a barrel, while
gold futures advanced more than $2 to $1,136 an ounce.
The dollar index (DXY), which contrasts the greenback against
six currency rivals, was up 0.4% at 81.39, while Treasurys advanced
after the government's sale of $40 billion in 3-year notes.
Dampening enthusiasm in the technology sector, CA Inc. (CA)
shares fell 1.7% after the maker of business software said it would
cut about 1,000 jobs and forecast 2010 results would be at the low
end of its forecast.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) added 8.2 points to
2,437.76.
Shares of Massey Energy Co. (MEE) fell 11% after a blast on
Monday has left at least 25 miners dead at one of the company's
sites in West Virginia. .
Advancers edged just ahead of decliners on the New York Stock
Exchange, where nearly 718 million shares had exchanged hands as of
3:40 p.m. Eastern. Composite volume stood at 3.6 billion
shares.