Stocks Stage Late Recovery, Close Higher
A late-day rally gave stocks a moderate advance Tuesday as a second day of sharply lower oil prices calmed investors uncertain about the direction of interest rates.</br></br>Better-than-expected earnings from Coca-Cola and United Technologies propped up the Dow Jones industrial average, while mild wholesale inflation data also lent some support to the market. But concerns about conflict in the Middle East made investors uneasy about buying: Stocks spent most of the session lower before recovering late in the day.</br></br>The Dow climbed 51.87, or 0.5 percent, to 10,799.23, after sinking as much as 63 points earlier. The Standard & Poor's 500- stock index gained 2.37, or 0.2 percent, to 1236.86, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.50, or 0.3 percent, to 2043.22.</br></br>While a modest rise in the core producer price index helped the inflation picture, analysts said the stronger-than-forecast gain in overall PPI raised the possibility of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and also unnerved the bond market. Downbeat housing data renewed fears about an economic slowdown.</br></br>Wednesday's appearance by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke before Congress and the latest reading of the Labor Department's consumer price index could lead stocks sharply in either direction.