US stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday as oil at the lowest level in more than three months boosted retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc, while General Motors Corp hit a 13-year low on concerns about a possible strike at its main auto parts supplier.
The decline in the price of crude to $58.93 a barrel also helped the shares of big industrial companies like United Technologies Corp, up 2 percent at $52.54.
But some major oil and gas stocks fell after news late in the session that the Federal Trade Commission issued subpoenas to big oil companies in a probe of gasoline prices. "Oil stocks were rallying when oil futures were rallying, then oil sells off and people think that's good for the economy, so they're trying to spin things in the most positive light," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 6.49 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 10,546.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.06 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,220.65. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.74 points, or 0.17 percent, at 2,175.81.
Shares of Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, rose 1.2 percent, or 59 cents, to $40.20 on the New York Stock Exchange and helped give the Dow a major lift. Wal-Mart's shares are sensitive to swings in oil prices because their customers include people on fixed incomes.
US crude oil for December delivery fell 78 cents to settle at $58.93 a barrel, the lowest price since July 22. During the day, oil prices were volatile, with the December crude contract trading from a high of $60.40 to a low of $58.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The government reported a surprising gain in US crude inventories in the latest week.
But General Motors shares slid to a 13-year low at $24.62 and sharply limited the Dow's advance amid increasing concerns that workers at Delphi Corp, its largest auto parts supplier, could go on strike. There also are worries that GM, the world's largest automaker, has underfunded its pension plans. On Wednesday, Fitch Ratings cut GM's debt deeper into junk status.
GM's stock fell 4.8 percent, or $1.24, to close at $24.63 on the NYSE.
In the oil patch, shares of Chevron Corp and ConocoPhillips fell after news of the FTC subpoenas in connection with a probe of why gasoline prices are so high.
Chevron's stock fell 1.9 percent, or $1.09, to $56.77, while ConocoPhillips dropped 1.5 percent, or $1.02, to $65.59. Both weighed on the S&P 500.
In contrast, Exxon Mobil Corp, a Dow component, ended slightly higher, up 0.2 percent, or 13 cents, at $57.50.
The top executives of Exxon Mobil and four of the other biggest US oil companies defended their combined quarterly profits of more than $30 billion at a US Senate hearing where lawmakers demanded to know when prices would ease.
The Nasdaq got a boost from shares of Pixar Animation Studios Inc, which shot up to a fresh 52-week high of $57.66, a day after reporting a rise in profit and revenue that sharply exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Pixar closed at $56.59, up 11.2 percent.
After the closing bell, computer and telecommunications network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc posted a slightly lower quarterly profit, due to the cost of expensing stock options.
Shares of Cisco climbed 0.8 percent to $18 on the Inet electronic brokerage system after closing at $17.75 on Nasdaq.
Trading was active on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.62 billion shares changing hands, above last year's daily average of 1.46 billion. On Nasdaq, volume was 1.65 billion shares, below last year's daily average of 1.81 billion.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of 6 to 5, while on Nasdaq, the number of shares that rose outpaced that fell by a ratio of about 6 to 5.