U.S. stocks end higher as retailers and smaller companies rise

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks inched higher Thursday as smaller retailers and banks traded higher and energy companies rose with fuel prices. Once again, the market was unable to hang on to more substantial gains from earlier in the day.

Strong reports from companies including L Brands, the parent of Victoria’s Secret, and Bed Bath & Beyond helped retailers. Energy companies rose with the prices of oil and natural gas, and banks recovered some of the sharp losses they took a day ago.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose as much as 98 points early in the afternoon. However high-dividend stocks like phone companies and utilities skidded, and technology companies fell.

Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said investors are feeling uncertain, and that may hold true for at least a few weeks. After a weak auto sales report on Monday, he said investors are wondering how fast the economy is growing and what that will mean for company earnings.

“We expect volatility to be higher than what we experienced in the first quarter,” he said.

It was the second day in a row that stocks slumped during afternoon trading, although the slip Thursday was far less dramatic than the one the day before. That slide started after the Federal Reserve said it may stop buying new bonds later this year and said its policymakers were grappling with whether it would be safe to let inflation rise faster.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 4.54 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,357.49. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.80 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,662.95.

The Nasdaq composite gained 14.47 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,878.95. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks performed far better. It climbed 12.28 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,364.43.

About three-fourths of the stocks on the New York Stock

Exchange rose Thursday, but stocks are mostly down this week. The Russell 2000 has fallen 1.6 percent.

Investors will get an updated picture of the economy in the coming weeks, including the government’s March report on employment Friday. Next week the Commerce Department will give a report on retailer sales and companies including JPMorgan Chase, Delta Air Lines and Netflix will report their earnings.

L Brands jumped $4.75, or 11 percent, to $47.85 after it reported strong March sales. Bed Bath & Beyond surpassed analysts’ earnings estimates and climbed $1.28, or 3.4 percent, to $39.08. Department stores and mall-based retailers like Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Gap traded higher. Discount retailers Fred’s and Five Below made gains after Fred’s announced its own quarterly results. Retail stocks have been hit hard for months as shoppers spend more money online and less at stores, especially ones based in malls.

Bond prices recovered from an early decline. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stayed at 2.34 percent. Companies that pay big dividends, like phone companies and utilities, traded lower. Investors often sell those stocks when bond yields rise, as they did earlier in the day.

U.S. crude oil added 55 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $51.70 a barrel in New York while Brent crude, the international standard, rose 53 cents, or 1 percent, to $54.89 a barrel in London.