Investors sidestepped some of their doubts about the economy and bought energy and industrial stocks as commodity prices rose. Stocks ended back-and-forth trading mostly higher Tuesday as a spike in the price of gold and corporate dealmaking extended an advance from Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.53, or 0.2 percent, to 9,771.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.53, or 0.2 percent, to 1,045.41. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.12, or 0.4 percent, to 2,057.32. For the week: The Dow is up 59.18 or 0.6 percent The S&P is up 9.22 or 0.9 percent The Nasdaq is up 12.21 or 0.6 percent For the year: The Dow is up 995.52, or 11.3 percent. The S&P is up 142.16, or 15.7 percent. The Nasdaq is up 480.29, or 30.5 percent. |