Stocks ended mostly lower Wednesday, as major stock indexes barely budged.
Strength in energy stocks, prompted by oil futures reaching $80 a barrel for the first time, was offset by weakness in technology stocks, reflecting a downbeat sales forecast late Tuesday by semiconductor-maker Texas Instruments.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 16.74, at 13,291.65. Technology giants International Business Machines and Hewlett-Packard were among the Dow losers. On the flip side, Exxon Mobil advanced.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 0.07, to 1471.56; the Nasdaq composite index slipped 5.40, to 2592.07; the Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks lost 4.37, to 777.90.
New York Stock Exchange trading volume totaled 1.28 billion shares. Losing stocks outnumbered winners by a 9-7 ratio among NYSE-listed stocks. Nasdaq trading volume totaled 1.89 billion shares, as losers topped winners by a nearly 3-2 ratio.
Texas Instruments dropped 60 cents, to $35.12. Steelmaker Nucor slipped 8 cents, to $53.46, after the company warned of weaker third-quarter profit, citing rising raw material costs and falling demand from the auto and housing industries.
Transportation stocks, especially airlines, lost ground, as higher oil prices threatened to boost costs. Southwest Airlines shares lost 42 cents, or nearly 3 percent, to $14.47.
After the close of regular NYSE trading, Oak Brook-based McDonald’s declared a 50 percent increase in its annual cash dividend, to $1.50 from $1. The restaurant chain pledged to return $15 billion to $17 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases through 2009.
Retailing giant Target climbed in late trading. The company will seek a buyer for its credit card receivables.
Treasury securities eased, as traders cashed in profits from a recent rally. The government will auction 10-year notes on Thursday.
Crude oil for October delivery rose $1.68 a barrel, to a record high $79.91. During the session, oil reached $80.18.
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The Agriculture Department boosted its forecast of the fall U.S. corn harvest to 13.307 billion bushels, up from 13.054 billion bushels in the previous forecast, against 10.535 billion bushels in last year’s harvest.