Fluctuating Oil Prices Keep Stocks Mixed

NEW YORK -- Stocks were narrowly mixed Monday as investors turned cautious while they watched oil prices fluctuate and awaited the release of fourth-quarter earnings reports.

The market saw crude prices rebound with a surge of more than $1 a barrel, then drop back down below the $56 mark. Oil traders had expected energy demand to be lower because of an unseasonably warm winter, but there are now predictions that cold weather is on its way.

The rebound and subsequent drop in oil prices kept stock investors at bay throughout the session.

Peter Dunay, an investment strategist with New York-based Leeb Capital Management, said investors have lost momentum and are trading conservatively ahead of earnings season that kicks when Alcoa Inc. reports results on Tuesday.

"This is one of those Mondays were people are doing a bit less until we see an impetus," he said. "The market is at an inflection point. Energy is big, but it has been down so much over the past few weeks that the fact it's up should be scaring participants too much."

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In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.49, or 0.10 percent, to 12,385.52.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 0.97, or 0.07 percent, at 1,408.74, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.96, or 0.12 percent, to 2,437.21.

Bond prices dipped in the absence of market-moving news, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.66 percent from 4.65 percent late Friday.

A barrel of light sweet crude fell 96 cents to $55.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

General Electric Co. fell 17 cents to $37.39 after agreeing to acquire oil and gas fields equipment supplier Vetco Gray for about $1.9 billion.

Pharmacy benefit manager Caremark Rx Inc. fell $1.20 to $55.18 after it rejected a $26 billion takeover bid from rival Express Scripts Inc. late Sunday. Caremark said it prefers a $22.2 billion offer from drug store chain CVS Corp. Express Scripts was off 58 cents at $68.28, while CVS fell 29 cents to $30.88.

Seattle Genetics Inc. rose $1.10, or 21 percent, to $6.39 after it struck a deal with Genentech Inc. on the development and commercialization of a cancer drug. Genentech rose 17 cents to $83.85.

RadioShack Corp. rose $1.86, or 11.1 percent, to $18.67 after saying its fourth-quarter profit will come in above year-earlier levels.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. dipped 17 cents to $47.22 after the world's largest retailer was downgraded by Goldman Sachs. The investment bank said Wal-Mart's strategy isn't clear and its turnaround plan is taking longer than expected.

Apple Computer Inc. rose 95 cents to $86 after JPMorgan reiterated an overweight rating on the Mac and iPod maker, and boosted its fiscal-first quarter profit projections.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 720.6 million shares, compared to 677 million shares on Friday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was down 0.70, or 0.09 percent, at 775.17.

Overseas, Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.42 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.22 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.02 percent.

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