By Victor Reklaitis and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market picked up steam
in late trading on Tuesday and finished the session marginally
higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out its 10th record close
this year. The S&P 500 finished near record levels, after
trading in a narrow range amid lower-than-usual volumes.
The S&P 500(SPX) closed less than a point lower at 1,950.80,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) added 2.82 points to
16,945.92.
The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) ended the day up 1.75 points at
4,338.00.
No top-tier economic reports were on the calendar for Tuesday,
although the Labor Department said job openings increased in April,
and the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories gained
1.1%.
While some market watchers have worried lately about low
volatility, weak trading volumes and complacency among investors,
stocks have continued to show strength, with the S&P 500 up
5.5% for the year to date as of Tuesday's close.
Jim Russell, senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth
Management, said that markets had been modestly overbought and
expected a slight pullback or a sideways trade in the next few
days.
Russell does not see volatility as necessarily low: "Vix is not
the only measure we look at. We view it as less representative of
volatility because of an increased number of bets around it, such
as Vix derivatives."
"There is far more volatility internally on the S&P 500 than
the Vix is showing right now, as the average stock has not reached
the same highs as the index," he added. (Read more: Is a stock
market correction overdue?
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/06/09/is-a-stock-market-correction-overdue/.)
Katie Stockton, BTIG's chief technical strategist, said she
expects a pullback on Tuesday, but doesn't see it lasting long.
"We expect the pullback to be shallow and short-lived," Stockton
wrote in a note. In the short term, she said "overbought conditions
are widespread," but there are "very few reasons to be bearish from
an intermediate-term trend-following standpoint, which we would
keep in mind as the major indices take pause."
Among individual stocks, RadioShack Corp.(RSH) dived 10% after
the struggling electronics retailer reported a wider first-quarter
loss than expected.
Shares of eBay Inc. (EBAY) dropped 2.7% after the online
marketplace said late Monday that its PayPal chief is leaving the
company to join Facebook Inc. (FB). Facebook shares climbed
4.6%.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 0.6%, building on a 1.6% gain from
Monday, when the stock started trading following a 7-for-1
split.
Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP.NV.T) fared best among S&P 500
stocks, rising 5.4%, while Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) performed worst,
losing 3.8%. (Read more in the Movers & Shakers column:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/radioshack-dives-on-results-receptos-spikes-2014-06-10.)
In U.S. economic news, job openings at U.S. workplaces rose to
4.46 million in April -- the most since September 2007 while U.S.
wholesale inventories increased 1.1% in April.
In other markets, Chinese stocks closed higher after inflation
data for May matched analyst expectations. Other Asian markets
closed mixed. European markets rebounded, with the benchmark Stoxx
Europe 600 closing at its best level in more than six years. Gold
futures (GCQ4) climbed, and oil futures (CLN4) settled slightly
lower.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Is a stock market correction overdue?
3 reasons the Dow doesn't deserve to be at 17,000
How Europe's amazing bond rally could end in new crisis
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