Stocks closed mostly higher Tuesday in thin trading, although Merrill Lynch’s “sell” recommendation on Bank of America, a new member of the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average, helped send the Dow lower.
The Dow closed down 16.04 points, at 12,532.60. More than 11 of the negative Dow points were supplied by Bank of America. Aluminum producer Alcoa, Caterpillar and DuPont were among the Dow winners.
Bank of America dropped $1.48, or 3.5 percent, to $40.97, after Merrill Lynch forecast another wave of loan losses at the banking giant. In turn, JPMorgan Chase and UBS trimmed their earnings outlooks for Merrill Lynch, citing the prospect of asset write-downs. Merrill Lynch closed down 53 cents, at $47.85.
Nonetheless, winning stocks outnumbered losers by nearly a 2-1 ratio among New York Stock Exchange stocks and a 9-5 ratio among Nasdaq stocks. NYSE trading volume was 1.47 billion shares, down from 1.57 billion Monday. Nasdaq volume was 2.05 billion shares, down from 2.27 billion Monday.
Among local stocks, Chicago-based real estate investment trust General Growth Properties gained $2.74, or 7 percent, to $41. The company plans to sell stock to repay debt.
In late trading, Clear Channel Communications sank. The Wall Street Journal reported a private-equity deal to acquire the company was on the rocks.
Treasury securities rallied on fresh news of weakness in house prices and consumer sentiment. In turn, the dollar lost ground against major currencies, reflecting the latest pessimistic U.S. economic data. Commodity prices, including oil and gold, advanced as the dollar weakened.
Crude oil for May delivery rose 36 cents a barrel, to $101.22.
Gold restored some of last week’s loss in futures trading, adding $16.30 an ounce, to $934.60.