Tech stocks cling to gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Nasdaq managed slim gains but the broader market was mixed Wednesday afternoon as investors weighed lower oil prices, weaker economic news and strength in Dow stock Microsoft.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 5.28 to 12,515.58, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (up 0.04 to 1,437.81, Charts) index both inched higher with less than two hours left in the session. The Nasdaq (Charts) composite added 0.3 percent.

Stocks struggled throughout the session as investors welcomed developments in Iran and a drop in oil prices but held back amid a slew of weaker reports on the economy.

"I think the market is basically treading water here after a strong day yesterday," said Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management.

Ghriskey said that there may be some nervousness about the earnings reporting period, which gets rolling later in the month.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 61 cents to $64.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Iran's president pardoned and pledged to release the 15 British sailors and marines being held.

Concerns about the standoff between the two nations had driven up the price of oil over the last week. Iran is the No. 4 oil exporter.

Still, oil prices came off their lows after the government's weekly energy inventory report, which showed a big drop in gasoline supplies.

Nonetheless, the apparent resolution to the standoff provided some comfort to investors.

"There's hope that this will be resolved, but as it hasn't actually happened yet, it's still something of an overhang," Ghriskey said.

Among stock movers, Microsoft (up $0.67 to $28.54, Charts) jumped after Citigroup raised its fiscal third-quarter earnings estimates, reflecting what it said was the successful launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007, according to Reuters.

Tempering the gains: a batch of economic reports that revived worries about the health of the economy.

Factory orders rose 1 percent in February after falling a revised 5.7 percent in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought orders would rise 1.9 percent.

The Institute for Supply Management's service sector index fell to 52.4 in March from 54.3 in February. Economists thought it would rise to 54.7, on average.

Employers added 106,000 private sector jobs in March, according to a morning report from payroll services company ADP. The figure was short of expectations and raised concerns ahead of the more closely watched monthly report from the Labor Department, expected Friday, when U.S. markets are closed.

U.S. and most European markets will be closed for Good Friday.

Best Buy (down $0.93 to $48.20, Charts) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates, but the shares declined. Rival Circuit City (down $0.25 to $18.03, Charts) reported a quarterly loss versus a profit a year earlier, sending shares lower.

Monster Worldwide, parent of job search site Monster.com, said first-quarter revenue won't meet forecasts because of slower growth in its U.S. online ad sales. Monster (down $6.36 to $42.15, Charts) shares slipped 14 percent.

DaimlerChrysler (down $0.81 to $82.14, Charts)'s CEO confirmed that the company is talking with potential buyers about its money-losing Chrysler unit.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers by a narrow margin on volume of 870 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers 8 to 7 on volume of 1.16 billion shares.

Treasury prices gained, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.63 percent from 4.66 percent late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.

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