Stocks struggle to a mixed close on Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are struggling to a mixed close on Wall Street after spending most of the day lower, pulled down by weakness in materials and energy companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 33 points to close at 13,482 on Tuesday. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index inched up a point to 1,446. The Nasdaq composite rose six to 3,120.
The market started the day higher, turned lower at midday then wound up mixed by the closing bell. Materials stocks fell the most, dragged down by a weak earnings report from Mosaic, the largest maker of fertilizer. Mosaic blamed poor demand from China and India.
Rising stocks narrowly outnumbered falling ones on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light at 3.2 billion shares.
