Stocks hold for 2nd day in a row

Associated Press

Stocks barely budged Wednesday, and investors held on to their gains from a strong opening to the year. It wasn’t much, but after the lurching, up-and-down weeks of 2011, investors were grateful for the winning streak.

Strong December sales helped the stocks of automakers and specialty stores. Banks, health-care companies and utilities fell slightly. Netflix surged after its first good news in months.

But nothing else moved much. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 21.04 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 12,418.42. The Dow opened the year with a 180-point gain Tuesday, which brought it to the highest level since July.

“At least thus far in 2012, we haven’t followed the path of 2011, where if it’s a good day, there’s a bad day right away,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst with Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq also had big gains Tuesday but only moved a fraction of a point a day later. The S&P inched up 0.24 to close at 1,277.30. The Nasdaq fell 0.36 to 2,648.36.

Retailing-industry stocks rose 0.8 percent as a group after post-Christmas sales came in 5.3 percent better than a year ago. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rose 1.8 percent, and Ross Stores Inc., which sells discounted clothes, rose 0.7 percent.

Big-box stores fell, though. Analysts have been concerned that some stores raised holiday sales with deep discounts that will hurt profits. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 1.1 percent, making it the second-biggest decliner among the Dow’s 30 stocks. Target Corp. fell 2.2 percent and Kohl’s Corp. fell 1.4 percent.