CLOSE: Wall crawls upward

    NEW YORK _ Wall Street closed a quiet session with a
moderate advance Thursday, with energy and other commodities
companies leading the market as oil prices extended their
record-breaking run.
    The price of crude oil swept past $124 a barrel in late New York
Mercantile Exchange trading, while gasoline rose to a new record of
its own at the pump, climbing to a national average of nearly $3.65
a gallon.
    Although the rising price of oil ignited concerns about
inflation on Wednesday, knocking the Dow Jones industrial average
down more than 200 points, stocks managed to hold on to their gains
even as oil rose Thursday. Some of the big gainers were the
companies that would benefit the most from higher commodities
prices _ the oil companies and metals producers like Alcoa Inc. _
and they helped lift the major indexes.
    Stocks also rose after retailers issued April sales results
that, while not strong overall, were less gloomy than expected. The
data suggested that high energy costs are leading consumers to
alter their spending, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was one of the
beneficiaries of that trend. But some apparel stores _ whose
merchandise falls into the category of discretionary items _ again
saw depressed sales as consumers budgeted more for gasoline and
food.
    Financial stocks were the worst performers of the day. Philip S.
Dow, managing director of equity strategy at RBC Dain Rauscher in
Minneapolis, said investors likely are still jittery over the
sector, with continued concern about whether the companies have
problems on their books beyond subprime mortgages. ``Our guess is
that the worst is not over for the financials on a fundamentals
basis,'' he said.
    According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 52.43, or
0.41 percent, to 12,866.78.
    Broader stock indicators turned higher after fluctuating at
times during the session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose
5.11, or 0.37 percent, to 1,397.68, and the Nasdaq composite index
rose 12.75, or 0.52 percent, to 2,451.24.
    Bond prices rose as some investors sought the safety of
government debt despite the gains in stocks. The yield on the
benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price,
fell to 3.79 percent from 3.85 percent late Wednesday.
    Gold prices rose, while the dollar declined against most other
major global currencies.
    Mixed economic readings and lofty energy prices could keep the
market in a holding pattern through the summer, said Janna Sampson,
director of portfolio management at Oakbrook Investments. ``With
oil high and continuing to go up, it's going to be tough to get the
market to have a sustainable rally.''
    Alfred E. Goldman, chief market strategist at Wachovia
Securities, was a bit more optimistic, saying he estimates the
economy is four months away from the end of an average-length
recession, so the stock market should resume its climb again soon.
    ``Basically, the market is taking a time-out after the prior six
weeks,'' Goldman said. ``The bigger picture is a market that's in
the process of transitioning from a bear to a bull, shifting from a
situation where the glass is half-empty to one where the glass is
half-full. And that takes time.''
    In a positive sign for the U.S. employment picture, which has
seen four straight months of jobs losses, the Labor Department said
Thursday the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment
benefits dropped by 18,000 last week to 365,000 _ a larger decline
than expected.
    Aluminum producer Alcoa rose $1.56, or 4.1 percent, to $39.65.
Oil companies also gained; Exxon Mobil Corp. rose $1.11 to $89.93,
while Chevon Corp. was up $2.11 at $97.44.
    Wal-Mart rose 33 cents to $57.16, but Target Corp. fell $1.10,
or 2.1 percent, to $52.34 after saying its same-store sales rose in
April by an amount that was smaller than analysts forecast.
Same-store sales are an important barometer of a retailer's health
that reflects sales at stores open at least a year.
    A weak U.S. consumer weighed on Toyota Motor Corp., which said
late Wednesday that profits in the January-to-March period tumbled
28 percent due to the rising yen and weak North American sales. The
Japanese automaker also predicted sales will drop for the fiscal
year through March 2009 for the first time in several years, and
that earnings will fall 27 percent.
    Toyota's U.S.-traded shares fell $4.20 or 4 percent, to $100.56.
    The Russell 2000 index rose 3.34, or 0.47 percent, to 719.55.
    Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2
on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume amounted to a light
1.21 billion shares, compared with 1.28 billion shares traded
Wednesday.
    The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged
Thursday. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet pointed to clear upside
risks to price stability, indicating that the bank is unlikely to
lower its rates in the near future.
    In overseas trading, Tokyo's Nikkei index fell 1.13 percent,
Britain's FTSE index rose 0.16 percent, Germany's DAX index fell
0.06 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.39 percent.