Market Commentary: Stocks End Choppy Day With Modest Gains

July 14, 2009 4:59 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - U.S. markets manage to finish slightly higher after trading range bound most of the session. Investors were torn between strong earnings results and worries of inflation with the rise in producer prices last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial average added 28 points or 0.3 percent. 19 of 30 Dow components finished the day higher. Intel, up 2 percent, as the strongest Dow component as investors snatched up share ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report, due out shortly after the close.

The S&P 500 rose 5 points or 0.5 percent. Eight of 10 major economic sectors finished the session higher. The consumer discretionary sector posted the biggest gain, up 1.5 percent as retailers jumped on the government's report that June sales rose 0.6 percent.

Financials finished 0.3 percent lower despite record earnings from Goldman Sachs. The investment bank post second quarter profit of $4.93 a share, but only saw its stock barley rise as investors took profits from Monday's big advance.

The Nasdaq Composite added 7 points or 0.4 percent. The tech sector rose 0.3 percent on the day, but had shares of Dell weighing on it all day. The PC maker said it expects gross margins to decrease in the quarter.

On the economic front, the Department of Labor reported a 1.8 percent increase in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for June. That increase is double the 0.9 percent forecasted by economists and may once again induce inflation fears.

Wednesday's market will see the release of the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) along with Capacity Utilization and Industrial Production for June.