NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks moved in a narrow range Tuesday as investors eyed falling oil prices and Treasury bond yields but remained reluctant to make any big moves.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 9.44 to 10,599.67, Charts) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (down 2.49 to 1,213.61, Charts) index both lost a few points. The Nasdaq composite (up 2.94 to 2,091.07, Charts) crept higher.

With no major economic reports to focus on Tuesday, stock investors looked to oil and a smattering of corporate news, including a few profit warnings.

U.S. light crude for July delivery rose briefly to $59.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, another trading high, before retreating to settle at $58.90, a decline of 47 cents.

Also, investors were taking a breather after several up weeks for stocks, analysts said.

"The market has had a nice run recently, and we're approaching a critical point on the S&P 500 in the 1,210 through 1,220 range," said Joe Sunderman, market analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The S&P 500 has had a tough time with that level and since oil was still near record highs "it's not surprising to see some stalling and consolidation" in the stock market, he added.

Elsewhere, Treasury bonds rallied, sending yields lower after influential bond investor and PIMCO head Bill Gross said that the Fed's tightening cycle will likely end soon, and that rates could start coming down at the end of the year. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

After the close, Ford Motor (Research) warned that 2005 earnings won't meet expectations and said it will cut another 5 percent of its salaried work force as it struggles with falling North American vehicle sales. The stock sank 5 percent in after-hours trade.

Morgan Stanley (Research) reports earnings early Wednesday. The Wall Street bank is expected to have earned 91 cents a share, according to First Call forecasts, versus $1.16 a year ago.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Nasdaq and S&P futures indicated a sluggish open Wednesday, when fair value is taken into account.

Oil prices fell around 1 percent Tuesday. But the modest retreat did little to reassure investors and economists concerned about the prospect of oil prices topping and staying above $60 a barrel. Sustained higher oil prices make it more expensive for companies to do business and cut into consumer spending.

"The oil prices are really a bugaboo on the market," said Michael Carty, principal at New Millennium Advisors.

"Over the longer run, the higher oil prices are going to be a factor for corporations and for the consumer," he added. "But I don't think the stock market has really factored that in fully."

Techs had a better time than other sectors, thanks in part to a bullish note on chips out of Lehman Brothers.

The brokerage boosted its rating on chipmaker PMC-Sierra (up $0.57 to $9.29, Research) to "equal weight" from "underweight," Reuters reported, and boosted the overall chip sector to "positive" from "neutral."

The bond market jumped after Bill Gross said that he doesn't see a recession in the next six months and that two more 25-basis point hikes -- which would bring the Fed funds rate to 3.50 percent -- is about as much as the Fed is likely to do. There are 100 basis points in a percent.

The comments sent Treasury prices higher, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.03 percent from 4.10 percent late Monday.

The session brought its share of merger news.

Maytag (up $0.83 to $16.06, Research) is now in the middle of a bidding war after a Chinese appliance maker made a higher bid for the company than the one it accepted last month from a U.S. buyout firm. Shares of the struggling washing machine and vacuum maker climbed 5.4 percent on the news.

Oil firm Unocal (up $1.38 to $64.85, Research) rose on reports that CNOOC, China's state-run energy firm, is considering challenging Chevron (down $0.56 to $58.78, Research)'s $16 billion bid for the company.

Kroger (up $1.76 to $19.45, Research) shares jumped nearly 10 percent after the company reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue that topped estimates. The supermarket chain also boosted its fiscal 2005 guidance.

Home builder Lennar (up $1.34 to $63.41, Research) also climbed after reporting higher earnings and revenue that topped estimates. The company has benefited from the boom in the housing market, and said its fiscal year 2005 earnings would surpass current forecasts.

But other pre-earnings announcements were more negative.

Steelmaker Nucor (down $2.25 to $50.68, Research) warned that second-quarter earnings will come in at the low end of its previous forecasts, due to decreased demand. The company also said that the full year should still turn out to be one of its most profitable.

Meanwhile, a number of oil stocks slumped, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector (down $3.03 to $144.94, Research) index down 2 percent.

The biotech sector, which has been on a tear of late, suffered some profit taking, too, Schaeffer’s Sunderman noted. The Amex Biotech (down $7.33 to $559.47, Research) index fell 1.3 percent.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a narrow margin on volume of 1.29 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers barely topped decliners as 1.58 billion shares changed hands.

In currency trading, the dollar was weaker versus the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold rose 50 cents to settle at $440.50 an ounce.