Stocks flat amid weak holiday sales

NEW YORK – Stocks finished largely flat Wednesday as investors returned from the Christmas holiday to news of weaker-than-expected retail sales. A jump in oil prices also concerned Wall Street.

Other reports released alongside Christmas proved disappointing. Target Corp. indicated its sales may have fallen in December, while MasterCard Inc. said holiday spending – including credit, cash and checks – climbed a modest 3.6 percent between Thanksgiving and Christmas, weighed by a slowdown in sales of women’s apparel. That compares with a rise of 6.6 percent over the same period last year. The news could raise concerns about the strength of consumer spending and, in turn, the economy. However, it has been widely expected that holiday sales would be slow.

A report that U.S. home prices fell for the 10th consecutive month in October also appeared to limit stocks’ gains.

Kim Caughey, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh, said reports on retail had upended some investors’ hopes for strong consumer spending in the long weekend before Christmas.

“From the quick analysis it doesn’t look like it was a great year. I think investors had held out hope that retail might have had that final flourish. It was a sad flourish, not a strong one,” she said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.36, or 0.02 percent, to 13,551.69.

Advancing and declining issues were just about even on the New York Stock Exchange and consolidated volume came to a light 1.94 billion shares.

Broader stock indicators also showed gains. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.21, or 0.08 percent, to 1,497.66, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 10.91, or 0.40 percent, to 2,724.41.

Major stock indicators had advanced in the previous three sessions.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 4.29 percent from 4.21 percent late Monday.

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

A barrel of light, sweet crude rose $1.84 to settle at $95.97 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil rose to a one-month high of $96.54 during the session.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.64, or 0.33 percent, to 797.03.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed up 0.65 percent. European stock markets were closed for an extended holiday.