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NEW YORK — The stock market struggled but held its ground Wednesday as an upbeat assessment of the economy from the Federal Reserve offset drops in banks and energy companies.
Most stocks finished higher after the Fed said regional economic activity has generally improved since its last snapshot in October. The central bank said consumers have increased spending even as employment and commercial real estate remain weak.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 19 points after gaining 162 points in the first two days of the week. Reports of analysts' warnings about bank stocks hurt financial shares, while a steep drop in oil weighed on energy companies.
Bank stocks could get a boost Thursday from Bank of America Corp.'s announcement after the closing bell that it plans to repay $45 billion in government bailout funds.
A mixed reading on the labor market kept trading subdued. The ADP National Employment Report said private companies cut 169,000 jobs in November, fewer than in October but worse than the 160,000 cuts expected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. It was the eighth monthly drop.
Investors are focused on the job market, which remains weak despite signs of life in manufacturing, housing and other parts of the economy.
"It all falls apart if you don't get jobs to come around," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management.
The ADP report doesn't represent the entire economy but is often seen as a good indicator of what will emerge in the government's monthly employment report, which is due on Friday. Economists are expecting the unemployment rate remained flat at 10.2 percent in November.
A rising dollar also cooled the market's advance.
Investors are struggling to determine whether the big gains in the stock market since early March are justified by an improving economy or if they're overdone. The S&P 500 index is up 64 percent in nine months.
Analysts have been worried that the nascent recovery could be threatened by economic problems overseas or missteps by the government and the resulting gyrations in the dollar. Concerns over a potential debt crisis in the Middle Eastern city-state of Dubai pushed stock markets lower last week.
The Dow fell 18.90, or 0.2 percent, to 10,452.68, pulling off of a 14-month high reached Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 0.38, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,109.24, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 9.22, or 0.4 percent, to 2,185.03.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4 billion shares compared with 4.4 billion Tuesday.
The listless trading followed modest gains Monday and a surge Tuesday driven by a weaker dollar and higher commodities prices. A months-long slide in the dollar, the result of rock-bottom interest rates, has encouraged investors to buy riskier assets that have the potential to earn better returns.
Analysts say trading likely will remain choppy through the rest of the year as some investors look to lock in the gains they've amassed in the rally since March.
Trading in foreign exchange, commodities and debt markets was mixed as traders remained cautious.
"People don't know where to go," Stone said. "That wait-and-see attitude has kicked in."
The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against other major currencies, edged up 0.3 percent.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.32 percent from 3.29 percent late Tuesday.
Gold surged to a record $1,218.40 an ounce before settling at $1,213.
Oil fell $1.77 to settle at $76.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the Energy Department said demand for gasoline fell during the Thanksgiving week, when gas sales usually rise because of holiday travel.
Among financial stocks, Bank of America fell 24 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.65. In after-hours trading the stock rose 39 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $16.04.
Wells Fargo & Co. slid 54 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $27.45 on reports that some analysts voiced concerns about industry profits next year.
Meanwhile, Chesapeake Energy Corp. fell 70 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $23.40 as oil fell. Occidental Petroleum Corp. slid 97 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $81.21.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.89, or 1.2 percent, to 596.09.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 added 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.4 percent.
