Stocks are mixed, investors make few moves

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were narrowly mixed in listless trading today as investors found little reason to extend the previous day's rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 4 points and all the other major indexes were narrowly mixed. Interest rates fell again in the Treasury market as investors kept seeking out more secure alternatives to stocks.

There was barely any news to motivate stock investors, and certainly not any that would persuade them to continue the rally that sent the Dow up 103 points Tuesday. There were no big economic reports planned today. On Tuesday, a stream of improving numbers fed the rally.

Retailers continued reporting their second-quarter earnings, and investors were ambivalent about the results.

Target Corp. missed analysts' forecasts for its second quarter revenue and offered a muted outlook for sales for the rest of the year.

But the company told analysts it hopes to offset weak sales with higher sales of groceries and its new discounts for credit card holders. Target initially fell sharply, then recovered to a moderate advance.