By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks pared gains in late trade
on Wednesday, as a fillip following a better-than-expected reading
on new-home sales proved short-lived.
Chart watchers kept an eye again on the S&P 500 index (SPX)
as it traded near its Jan. 15 record close of 1,848.38. The
benchmark index topped that level intraday on Monday and Tuesday
but couldn't close above it.
The S&P 500 was last down a point to 1,843.87, led by the
consumer-discretionary and materials sectors. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average(DJI) was flat at 16,181.26, with Wal-Mart Stores
Inc.(WMT) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT) faring best among blue chips,
both rising more than 1%. The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) was a point
lower at 4,288.54.
The S&P 500 and Dow both opened higher, but the trading
session was choppy throughout the day. Sales of new single-family
homes started 2014 with surprising strength, rising 9.6% in January
to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 above forecasts for
405,000.
The housing report was a "bit of good economic data" that's
"flying in the face" of recent weak economic reports that have been
blamed on bad weather, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical
strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
He told MarketWatch that the week is somewhat light on
market-moving headlines, so traders are focused on the S&P 500
"continuing to pound on the 1,850 area." The index eventually will
break through, he said, noting that March and April historically
have been the S&P 500's two best months. In the last 20 years,
March and April on average have delivered returns of 1.52% and
2.19%, respectively, topping all other months, according to
Schaeffer's data.
Follow the U.S. stock market live blog.
On the other hand, Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at
MKM Partners, said he sees U.S. equities in a "stalemate" following
their move up from their lows in early February.
The past two weeks "have largely been a consolidation for U.S.
equities," Krinsky wrote in a note on Wednesday. "Looking
objectively at the Bull and Bear arguments, we see no clear edge
for the SPX in the near-term. This likely means more frustration
for both Bulls and Bears."
In other U.S. economic news, Cleveland Fed President Sandra
Pianalto will discusses her 35 years at the Fed in a speech at the
College of Wooster later this evening.
In other markets, it was a choppy day in Asia, with the Nikkei
225 closing down 0.5% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index gaining
0.5%. European stocks were in the red with the Stoxx 600 pulling
back from a six-year high reached in the prior session. Gold fell,
while oil prices advanced, and the dollar rose against the euro and
the yen.
Among individual stocks, Target Corp. (TGT) jumped 6.7% as
investors cheered its fourth-quarter report, while rival Wal-Mart
rose 1.4% amid news that its Sam's Club business was testing an
online subscription service as the threat from Amazon.com Inc.
(AMZN) grows.
Home Depot was up 5.2% after No. 2 home-improvement retailer
Lowe's Cos.(LOW) announced a gain in fourth-quarter profit and
additional share buybacks.
Newfield Exploration Company shares jumped 8% after the
company's fourth-quarter results beat estimates.
On the downside, First Solar Inc. (FSLR) dropped 9.7% after the
company reported quarterly earnings late Tuesday that fell well
short of Wall Street forecasts. (Read more: Movers & Shakers
http://www.marketwatch.com/column/movers%20%26%20shakers?link=MW_Nav_MA.)
More stories from MarketWatch:
Three warning signs from higher gold prices
Mt. Gox under investigation as bitcoin price rebounds
Bitcoin experts to evaluate future of cryptocurrency at
MarketWatch special event March 4
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires