Stocks flat after Dow tops 12,000

Stocks ended mixed today, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average closed at its highest level in two and a half years.

The Dow traded in a tight range throughout the day as investors weighed the impact of unrest in Egypt against better-than-expected news on the job market.

“The market seems to be catching its breath after that strong run Tuesday,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Investments.

Traders’ television screens were filled with scenes of fighting in Egypt between groups that support President Hosni Mubarak and those who are calling for his ousting. Mr Mubarak vowed on Tuesday that he would not run for president in September but did not say he would take any steps to leave office before then.

Egypt is not a major producer of oil but controls the Suez Canal, a key shipping lane in the global oil business. Oil prices fluctuated throughout the day as traders balanced the clashes in Egypt with a report that fuel supplies were growing in the US. Oil settled nine cents higher at 90.86 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow rose 1.81 points to close at 12,041.97.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 3.56 points, or 0.3%, to 1,304.03. Nine of its 10 company groups fell. Financial companies had the largest fall of any group, dropping 0.9%. The Nasdaq composite lost 1.63 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,749.56.

Early today, payroll processor ADP said that private companies added more jobs in January than analysts predicted. That is a hopeful sign for the Labour Department’s monthly employment report, due out on Friday. Economists expect the government to say the unemployment rate rose to 9.5% in January from 9.4% the previous month.

Treasury prices fell, pushing their yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.48% from 3.43% late yesterday.

Falling shares outpaced rising ones by a small margin on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 936 million shares.