US Stocks Near Flat Amid 'Some Negative Undercurrents'

Stocks were little-changed on Tuesday as select financial and commodity-related names clung to limited gains.

Those sectors enjoyed heavy buying in the previous session, though relatively little of that momentum carried into Tuesday's action. Investors welcomed the news of a larger-than-expected repayment of bank bailout money and a retreat in the dollar that lifted commodity prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last up five points. American Express and J.P. Morgan Chase, which were thought to be among the banks the Treasury Department permitted to repay $68 billion in bailout funds, advanced. But Procter & Gamble fell 1% after it detailed its succession plans, and many industrial stocks were lower.

The S&P 500 rose about 0.3%, led by gains in its energy and basic-materials sectors.

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.7%, while the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index rose 1.2%. Oil futures rose more than $1 to trade above $69 a barrel in New York.

Raw materials have benefited lately from expectations that the economy will recover later this year and bolster demand. At the same time, some traders have grumbled that commodity prices could get ahead of themselves and prevent a needed uptick in consumer activity.

The average retail price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline in the U.S. now stands at $2.619, according to AAA, up more than 18% from a month ago but down about 35% from a year ago, when prices were near records at the height of the energy bubble.

"There are still some negative undercurrents in the stock market right now," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co. in New York. "But the good news is that it hasn't totally fallen apart, which is encouraging."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the repayment of $68 million in bailout money was a "sign of financial repair." The Treasury Department said the banks, which weren't named, will be allowed to repay money they received from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program created by Congress last October at the height of the financial crisis.

Goldman Sachs Group, Capital One Financial and BB&T rose. But the broader banking sector was little changed; the KBW Banks Index off about 0.1%.

The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% as Intel, also a Dow component, rose 3% and Research In Motion gained 2% amid gains in the tech sector.

Texas Instruments shares rose 6% after it raised its second-quarter revenue and earnings forecasts. Dolmen Stockbrokers analysts said the development was a "significant positive" for the tech sector, which they said has seen "a major stabilization."

TI now expects earnings in a range of 14 cents to 22 cents a share on revenue between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion, up from a prior quarterly estimate of earnings from 1 cent to 15 cents a share as well as sales in a range of $1.95 billion to $2.4 billion.

Sales in all of the company's major product lines were showing improvement, TI executives said, with analog products leading the sales growth.

Meanwhile, Apple Inc. saw its shares add 37 cents to reach $144.26.

The gain came a day after the company cut the price of its iPhone 3G to $99 and also unveiled two versions of the new iPhone 3GS. The newest iPhone comes with faster processing speeds and an improved camera that can also capture video.

Shares of Marvell Technology Group Ltd. rallied more than 10%, up $1.15 to stand at $12.37.

JMP Securities raised its rating on the chip maker to market outperform from market perform and set a $15-a-share price target, citing evidence that Marvell's controller technology is being used in more smartphones such as the iPhone.

Treasury prices were higher, pushing yields down. The benchmark 10-year note was down 9/32 to yield 3.86%. At the short end of the yield curve, where trade has been volatile in recent days, the two-year note rose 5/32 to yield 1.35%.

The dollar slid against the euro and the yen, allowing room for commodities prices to push higher. The front-month crude-oil futures contract was up more than $1 to trade above $69 a barrel. Gold prices also climbed as the dollar fell.

Overseas, Asian shares finished mostly lower amid concerns that recent market gains were getting ahead of the pace of economic recovery. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%. The FTSE 100 rose fractionally in London.

By Peter A. McKay