Stock market today: Wall Street drifts to a mixed close, holding near record levels

abcnews.go.com:

Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street as a lull carried through financial markets worldwide

NEW YORK — Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street as a lull carried through financial markets worldwide. The S&P 500 edged down 0.2% Wednesday, a day after setting an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%. The bond market was also quiet, with Treasury yields edging a bit higher. Stock markets around the world likewise moved only modestly. Oil prices rose, adding to their gains for the year so far. That helped the stocks of energy producers. Dollar Tree tumbled after reporting weaker results than analysts expected.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

U.S. stocks are drifting around their records Wednesday, as a lull carries through financial markets worldwide.

The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged in afternoon trading, a day after setting an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 108 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:18 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.

The bond market was also quiet, with Treasury yields edging higher, while stock markets abroad were mixed after making modest moves.

The biggest action may have been in the oil market, where a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude climbed 2.6% to $79.56. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.5% to $83.94 per barrel.

Oil prices have been on a general upswing so far this year, which has helped keep inflation a bit higher than economists expected. That higher inflation has in turn dashed Wall Street’s hopes that the Federal Reserve could start offering relief at its meeting next week by cutting interest rates.

But the expectation is still for the Fed