Stocks little changed as oil prices rise

Wall Street’s fixation with oil prices left stocks little changed Wednesday, although investors managed to react stoically to the government’s report of a drop in crude inventories.

Oil futures traded above $59 a barrel after the U.S. Department of Energy released data showing inventories of crude fell 1.58 million barrels for the week. The drop, while lower than expected, initially rattled traders and sent stocks sliding; however, they soon recovered most of their lost ground.

“The market is searching for meaning out of the news and isn’t ready to forecast where they think oil prices will be,” said John Caldwell, chief investment strategist for McDonald Financial Group, part of Cleveland-based KeyCorp. “It’s a reactive situation.”

A barrel of light crude settled at $58.09, down 95 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Worries linger on Wall Street that high oil prices could accelerate inflation, as businesses raise their own prices to absorb rising costs. United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp., said Wednesday it was raising fares on most domestic and international flights by 3 percent, effective immediately, because of rising oil prices.

“People are myopically focused on higher energy prices and are ignoring the generally good fundamentals for the U.S. equity market,” said Steve Neimeth, a portfolio manager at AIG SunAmerica Asset Management.

Investors nervous about a possible economic slowdown in the United States bid bonds higher worldwide. U.S. Treasuries rose, with the yield on the 10-year note falling to 3.94 percent from 4.05 percent late Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 11.74, or 0.11 percent, to 10,587.93.

Broader stock indicators were up. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.27, or 0.02 percent, at 1,213.88, and the Nasdaq composite index rose by 0.96, or 0.05 percent, to 2,092.03.

The U.S. dollar fell against the euro. Gold prices fell as well.

Advancing issues led decliners issues by roughly 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange. Preliminary consolidated volume on the NYSE came to 1.81 billion shares, up from 1.29 billion on Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 2.41, or 0.38 percent, at 643.45.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.51 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.34 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.25 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.18 percent.