Stocks Finish Mixed

The Dow and S&P 500 posted small gains while the Nasdaq edged lower. The Fed moved to boost consumer credit and aid the market for mortgage-backed securities

By Will Andrews

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U.S. stocks closed mixed Tuesday as profit taking pressured the market following two strong sessions. Technology issues underperformed the broader market. But bonds surged after the Federal Reserve announced a $600 billion program to buy mortgage-related debt and a $200 billion facility to support consumer debt securities.

Wall Street also digested a better than expected read on U.S. consumer confidence in November, a record year-over-year decline in a key gauge of U.S. home prices in September, and an about as-expected report on U.S. third-quarter gross domestic product.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 36.08 points at 8,479.47. The broad S&P 500 index added 5.58 points to 857.39. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index shed 7.29 points to 1,464.73.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 21 stocks were higher in price for every 10 that advanced. The ratio on the Nasdaq was 15-12 positive.

The U.S. dollar index slid after an earlier rise. Gold futures edged higher. Oil futures fell.

Stock markets in Europe closed higher, with major indexes rising 0.44% in London, 1.18% in Paris, and 0.13% in Frankfurt. Markets in Asia finished mixed, with Tokyo stocks rising 5.22%, while Hong Kong fell 3.38% and Shanghai was lower by fell 0.44%.

The Federal Reserve stepped up its efforts to support strained credit markets through new programs aimed at boosting consumer credit and the market for mortgage-backed securities, according to a Dow Jones report. Under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, the Fed will extend up to $200 billion in non-recourse loans to holders of asset-backed securities backed by consumer and small business loans. The Treasury Department will extend $20 billion in funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program to support the initiative. "The TALF is designed to increase credit availability and support economic activity by facilitating renewed issuance of consumer and small business ABS at more normal interest rate spreads," the Fed said. The Fed also said it will purchase up to $100 billion in GSE debt through a series of competitive auctions starting next week. It will also purchase up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by GSEs, with the goal of starting that program by the end of the year.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said it planned to sell three-year debt under a U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantee program, denominated in euros and in sterling and both in benchmark size. The notes will come under the FDIC's new Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. JPMorgan is managing the triple-A rated deal itself, an official at the bank said. Goldman Sachs (GS) on Monday became the first bank to take advantage of the program, and Morgan Stanley (MS) also announced a guaranteed debt issue on Tuesday.