Stocks Finish Mixed

The Dow managed a small gain Tuesday while the broader market finished little changed as the market took a breather after Monday's rally

U.S. stock indexes closed mixed Tuesday in a seesaw session. One one side: Investors taking profits after six sessions of gains in the S&P 500. On the other: Bargain hunters sniffing opportunities among the blue chips. The Dow industrials outpaced other key indexes, aided by gains in American Express (AXP), Disney (DIS), Chevron (CVX), IBM (IBM), and 3M (MMM).

On Tuesday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average finsihed higher by 20.03 points, or 0.20%, at 10,246.97. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 0.07 points, or 0.01%, to 1,093.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 2.98 points, or 0.14%, to 2,151.08.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 17 stocks were lower in price for every 13 that advanced. Breadth on the Nasdaq was 18-9 negative. Trading was slow ahead of Wednesday's Veterans Day semi-holiday.

Treasuries were mixed after Tuesday's $30 billion 10-year note refunding auction.

The dollar index finished higher; recent weakness has sparked some carry trade activity involving the greenback.

Gold futures were up 10 cents to $1,101.50 Tuesday afternoon in a volatile session following Monday's surge to record heights.

December crude oil futures were off $1.35 to $78.08 per barrel on profit taking from yesterday's surge on G20 finance ministers' pledge to maintain economic stimulus, according to S&P MarketScope. Some profit taking was triggered by news Hurricane Ida was downgraded to a tropical depression as it hit land a bit east of major oil and natural gas fields, says S&P MarketScope. Nevertheless, the storm forced the closure of some operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Also, the IEA lowered its long-term oil demand forecast.

European stock indexes finished mixed Tuesday. Benchmark indexes were lower by 0.09% in London, unchanged in Paris, and down 0.12% in Frankfurt.

Asian equities ended higher. Tokyo stocks rose 0.63%, Hong Kong advanced 0.27%, and Shanghai gained 0.10%.

There were no significant U.S. economic reports released Tuesday.

Earnings results were mixed after the close of trading Monday, with video game-maker Electronic Arts (ERTS) announcing a wider than expected quarterly loss and a cut of 17% of its workforce.

Priceline.com (PCLN) profits surged on increased travel summer travel reservations.

Beazer Homes (BZH) surged over 9% in premarket trading Tuesday after reporting a profit for its fiscal fourth quarter.

In Europe, HSBC (HBC) reported a third-quarter profit and lower consumer loan losses, while Barclays' (BCS) profits declined 54%. Embattled bank Lloyd's (LYG) plans to cut 5,000 workers.

The European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into news and financial-data company Thomson Reuters (TRI) on suspicion that the company abuses its dominant market position in real-time market data feed services.

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