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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Stocks were caught in a tight range at the open Wednesday, as investors eyed rising Treasury bond yields, AIG's earnings restatement and a flurry of activity in the oil sector.
The Dow Jones industrial average (down 3.98 to 10,535.74, Charts), the broader S&P 500 (up 0.76 to 1,219.35, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 0.64 to 2,172.71, Charts) all hovered near unchanged in the early going.
Stocks slipped Tuesday, breaking a four-session winning streak, after a profit warning in the homebuilding sector sparked a broader selloff.
Stocks were more muted Wednesday, with Cisco (down $0.08 to $17.78, Research)'s earnings report after the bell the next big touchstone for markets.
U.S. light crude oil for December delivery fell 18 cents to $59.53 a barrel in electronic trading Wednesday, ahead of the weekly oil inventory report, due out around 10:30 a.m. ET.
Separately, executives from five of the largest oil companies were being grilled as part of a congressional probe into record oil company profits at the same time consumers were being pinched.
Among stock movers, Dow component American International Group (down $0.75 to $65.10, Research) slipped 1 percent. The insurer said it would delay reporting third-quarter results and would again restate results going back to 2002 as part of an ongoing probe of its accounting practices.
On the upside, Pixar Animation Studios (up $3.62 to $54.50, Research) jumped about 7 percent after the company reported higher quarterly earnings late Tuesday that beat forecasts.
Home Depot (up $0.24 to $40.81, Research) inched higher after Piper Jaffray upgraded the home improvement retailer to "outperform" from "market perform." The brokerage cited the Dow component's earnings outlook and valuation relative to others in the sector.
Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.59 percent from 4.56 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The dollar was little changed versus the euro, hovering near a two-year high hit on Tuesday. The greenback fell versus the yen.
COMEX gold rose $2.50 to $464.80 an ounce.
In global trade, major Asian markets ended higher and European markets were weaker at midday.
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