Post date: Feb 21, 2012 10:18:4 PM
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 21, 2012) (NYSE - Stocks ended little changed on Tuesday (February 21), paring gains after the Dow topped 13,000 for the first time since May 2008, and as higher oil prices damped prospects for the economy.
Wall Street loses steam after Dow hits 13,000.
Greece's securing a bailout to avoid a disorderly default provided some support to stocks, but investors said the news had mostly been priced in to the market.
Fresh highs in oil prices gave investors a reason to sell. U.S. crude futures rose 2.5 percent to a nine-month high of $105.84 (USD) a barrel on Iran supply worries.
Since the start of the year, signs of improvement in the economy and stabilization of Europe's debt crisis have driven the Dow up 6.1 percent, while the S&P has climbed 8.3 percent.
The Dow ended at 12,965 after briefly climbing above the psychologically key 13,000.
"I think to what 13,000 signals to a lot of people is that we're not far off the highs that we were at pre economic crisis. So I think that this signals that we're may be back to where we were previous to all the troubles that we had three years ago and possibly on the road to a recovery," said Doreen Mogavero, President and CEO of Mogavero, Lee & Co., Inc.
Wal-Mart was the biggest drag on the Dow, sliding after its quarterly profit came in short of expectations. Wal-Mart shares fell 3.9 percent to $60.07, erasing most of the stock's gains so far in 2012.
Euro zone finance ministers agreed on a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue for Greece to avert a chaotic default after forcing Athens to commit to unpopular cuts and private bondholders agreed to take bigger losses.
Even with the bailout, Greece faces a long road to economic recovery. European Union officials said the Greek economy will only return to growth in 2014 after a recession that will shrink output by 17 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 15.82 points, or 0.12 percent, at 12,965.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.98 point, or 0.07 percent, at 1,362.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.21 points, or 0.11 percent, at 2,948.57.