Stocks nearly still as investors wait

NEW YORK - Stocks barely moved Thursday as investors wondered whether a welter of weak economic data would end the Federal Reserve's yearlong streak of interest rate increase.

Investors were displeased with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's report of a decline in almost every broad indicator it uses to measure the health of its region's manufacturing.

The readings "suggest little to no growth this month," the report said.

The Labor Department reported lower-than-expected inflation data, but gasoline prices jumped by the largest amount in 2 years, and unemployment filings spiked.

Roughly 68,000 Americans filed for unemployment last week because of Hurricane Katrina, the largest increase in nearly a decade.

Traders hope signs of a weakening economy will cause the Federal Reserve to curb its year-plus streak of interest rate increases when the central bank's Open Market Committee meets next Tuesday.

"A lot of investors are in a wait-and-see mode until we get the Fed behind us next Tuesday," said Arthur Hogan, a chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "There's a real split between those who think the Fed will and should take a break and those who think it will continue" incremental rate increases.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.85, or 0.13 percent, to 10,558.75 on Thursday.

Broader stock indicators were barely mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.57, or 0.05 percent, to 1,227.73, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.18, or 0.15 percent, to 2,146.15.