Stocks End Negative Day Narrowly Mixed

Updated from 3:16 p.m. EDT

After a day of bouncy trading, blue-chip stocks on Wall Street finished with mixed results, while technology shares got bruised slightly.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 15.96 points, or 0.1%, to 11,532.88, and the S&P 500 slipped 2.59 points, or 0.2%, at 1274.98. The Nasdaq was lower by 15.51 points, or 0.7%, to 2333.73.

The Federal Reserve's so-called beige book, which contains anecdotal data on the state of the economy, indicated that many regions have been slow, but the threat of inflation appears to have waned. The Fed also said that although exports had boosted factory output, the lift in activity had since declined. It also said consumer spending remains slow. ...