Weak Treasury Auction Sends Stocks Lower

Stocks found little direction Wednesday.

The major indexes wavered and slumped and recovered, despite decent Beige Book data, renewed interest in commodities and word that Fiat's acquisition of Chrysler would go ahead as planned. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surrendered its early gains to stand down 24 points at 8739. The Nasdaq dropped 7 to 1853, and the S&P 500 had slipped 3 to 939.

The big gainers were energy and utilities stocks, which rode a rally in commodities. Crude advanced on a decline in inventories. Oil traded up $1.25 at $71.26 a barrel.

However, the broader market remained anchored, as tech stocks and consumer cyclicals drifted lower. A Treasury note auction also weighed on trading. The government sold $19 billion of 10-year notes, but they had to lure investors with a 3.99% yield, according to the Associated Press. 

In autos, Chrysler moved closer to emerging from bankruptcy and being acquired by Fiat. The deal had been threatened by a lawsuit from several Indiana pension funds. However, the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the suit allowed the company to continue its plan.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the trade gap widened in April to $29.2 billion, a bit higher than economists had expected. The Federal Reserve released its Beige Book report, which showed five of its 12 districts reported signs the economy is moderating, according to MarketWatch.  

In Washington, the House passed the $4 billion "cash for clunkers" program, which is designed to spur new car sales by offering customers federally subsidized money back on trade-ins.

World markets were broadly higher. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei picked up 2.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 4.0%. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE picked up 0.7%.