Stocks Close Slightly Down

Updated from 4:17 p.m. EDT

Stocks in New York pared losses into the close Wednesday, recovering after a somewhat disappointing Treasury auction and the Federal Reserve's regional look at the economy after oil futures closed above $71 a barrel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 24.04 points, or 0.3%, to 8739.02, while the S&P 500 was off by 3.28 points, or 0.4%, to 939.15. The Nasdaq fell 7.05 points, or 0.4%, to 1853.08.

Alcoa(AA) was the best performer on the Dow, gaining 3.1%, while Caterpillar(CAT) was the worst, losing 1.6%.

Losses accelerated as investors showed some disappointment in the Treasury's $19 billion auction of 10-year notes, the second leg of a planned $65 billion in sales of notes and bonds that has Wall Street's attention this week. The high yield was 3.99%, more than some traders had expected and the most the government has paid since August.

Longer-dated Treasury yields were rising. The 10-year, down 21/32, was yielding 3.94%, while the 30-year, which fell 1-18/32, was yielding 4.75%.

Shortly after the conclusion of the auction, the Federal Reserve released its beige book, a report on 12 of its district banks. Economic conditions remained weak or further deteriorated during the period from mid-April through May, according to the report.

"However, five of the Districts noted that the downward trend is showing signs of moderating," it said. "Further, contacts from several Districts said that their expectations have improved, though they do not see a substantial increase in economic activity through the end of the year."