S&P nears four-year high
US stocks meandered to a mixed finish today as higher oil prices pressured the market, but the Standard & Poor’s 500 index neared a four-year high in a sign of Wall Street’s underlying bullishness.
While there was little news to give the markets a clear direction, the stock market held on to the gains of the past three sessions, which saw the major indexes jump roughly 3%. Strong earnings from PepsiCo and others helped investors remain positive.
That helped Wall Street stand firm in the face of another surge in crude futures. Oil prices rose above $60 per barrel as traders worried about another active hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico.
A barrel of light crude was quoted at $60.62 dollars, up $1.70 dollars, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“On balance, things are going well, but the mood is still very, very guarded,” Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors, said of stocks.
“Confidence in the market is improving, but it’s improving in very small steps because there’s still risks out there, like oil prices.”
The S&P rose 2.77, or 0.23%, to 1,222.21, just three points shy of its four-year high of 1,225.31, set on March 7. The index briefly surpassed that level before edging back in the last hour of trading.
The other major indexes were mixed. The Nasdaq composite index was up 7.72, or 0.36%, at 2,143.15, its best close since January 3, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.83, or 0.06%, to 10,513.89, unsurprising given the Dow’s bent toward energy-sensitive industrial companies.
