Oil Prices' Gain Holds Down Stocks
U.S. stocks failed to sustain an initial rally, leaving the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index little changed, as rising oil prices damped enthusiasm about first-quarter earnings reports.</br></br>The S&P 500 rose 1.12, or 0.1 percent, to 1296.62 after gaining as much as 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average added 21.29, or 0.2 percent, to 11,141.33. The Nasdaq composite index lost 5.75, or 0.2 percent, to 2333.27.</br></br>Retailers including Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot led the market's retreat, thwarting an attempt to recover from the biggest loss in more than five weeks.</br></br>Crude-oil futures closed at the highest price since September on reports that the United States is planning for military strikes against Iran. Investors are concerned about how higher commodity prices will affect the outlook for inflation and interest rates. Producers of gold and copper advanced with prices for the commodities. Gold prices rose, and copper and zinc climbed to all- time highs while nickel jumped to a level not seen since 1989.</br></br>Alcoa, the first Dow member to publish quarterly results, rose along with energy producers. After exchanges closed, the world's biggest aluminum maker said profit more than doubled, and its shares surged.