US stocks ended mixed but little changed on Wednesday, as investors mulled the Federal Reserve's signal it would gradually hike interest rates and focused on upbeat news on earnings and the economy.
Blue chips ended barely changed as the market's gains were reined in by worries about high oil prices and nagging geopolitical tensions.
Charter One Financial Inc offered the market support, a day after Royal Bank of Scotland Plc said it would buy the Ohio banking company for $10.5 billion cash. Its shares shot up 22 percent, to $43.86.
A spike in oil prices failed to boost shares of oil services companies, which took a beating after Banc of America Securities said it cut its rating on the offshore drilling sector to "under-weight" from "over-weight."
The Philadelphia Oilfield Services Index fell 1.8 percent. On Tuesday, the Fed left interest rates unchanged at their 1958 lows, as widely expected, but hinted an interest-rate hike was on the horizon.
Its signal of gradual rate increases, however, left Wall Street puzzling over when the first hike might arrive.
"People are ignoring fundamentals and are preoccupied with potential interest rate moves," said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investments LLC.
"The good news is that earnings are fine. Earnings are better than anyone would have expected this quarter."
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.98 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,121.53, and the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.78 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,957.26. The Dow Jones industrial average eased 6.25 points, or 0.06 percent, to 10,310.95.
Trading was active with about 1.5 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange and about 1.6 billion shares traded on Nasdaq.
An industry survey showing a sharp improvement in the vast US services sector last month offered more evidence the economy is bouncing back strongly.
The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index surged to 68.4 in April from 65.8 in March, beating Wall Street's forecast for a dip to 64.0.
Both the employment and prices paid components of the index rose. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a figure below that denotes contraction.
NYMEX crude oil futures set 13-year highs Wednesday on concerns over potential supply disruptions amid violence in the Middle East, despite weekly data showing crude and product supplies rose last week. Crude oil futures closed up 59 cents at $39.57 a barrel.
"The price of oil is a problem. If people are getting checks back from the government and that's getting cancelled out at the pump by high gasoline prices, it takes the wind out of consumer sales," said Michael O'Hare, head of block trading at Lehman Brothers.
CVS Corp shares jumped, after the drugstore chain said its quarterly profit leaped 25 percent on brisk generic drug sales, lower inventory losses and a more profitable mix of promotional products. CVS shares rose 54 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $40.53.
Boston Scientific Corp also rose, after the medical instruments maker said late Tuesday that sales of its Taxus drug-coated stent continued to gather steam, racking up US sales of $163 million in April. Boston Scientific shares rose 17 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $40.57.
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