Stocks manage gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks managed slim gains Wednesday, following the previous session's big rally, as investors eyed lower oil prices and weaker than expected economic reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 19.75 to 12,530.05, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (up 1.60 to 1,439.37, Charts) index both added a few points. The Nasdaq (Charts) composite added 0.3 percent.

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Treasury prices gained, lowering the corresponding yields. The dollar fell against other major currencies. Oil prices ended modestly lower, while the price of gold jumped.

Stocks struggled throughout the session as investors welcomed developments in Iran and a drop in oil prices but held back amid a slew of weak 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 first-quarter earnings reporting period, which gets rolling later in the month.

After the close, Micron Technology (down $0.16 to $12.07, Charts) reported a quarterly earnings loss that was steeper than expected. However, the chipmaker also said that prices for memory chips have stabilized recently and that demand should pick up this year.

Shares gained over 3 percent in extended-hours trading after falling about 1.5 percent during the regular session.

No market-moving companies are expected to report earnings on Thursday. The morning's one economic event is the weekly jobless claims report, which investors will keep an eye on ahead of Friday's bigger monthly number.

Among stock movers Wednesday, Microsoft (up $0.62 to $28.50, Charts) jumped after Citigroup raised its fiscal third-quarter earnings estimates for the company, reflecting what it said was the successful launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007, according to Reuters.

Microsoft's strength helped make software one of the best-performing tech sectors of the day.

Rising gold and silver prices gave a lift to metal and mining stocks. The Amex Gold Bugs (up $6.61 to $356.02, Charts) index gained nearly 2 percent.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 26 cents to settle at $64.38 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 past week. Iran is the No. 4 oil exporter.

Still, oil prices had seen an event bigger decline ahead of the morning release of 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.

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.

In earnings news, Best Buy (down $1.24 to $47.89, Charts) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates Wednesday, but the shares declined. Rival Circuit City (down $0.07 to $18.21, 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 $6.41 to $42.10, Charts) shares slipped 13 percent.

DaimlerChrysler (down $0.38 to $82.57, Charts)'s CEO confirmed that the company is talking with potential buyers about its money-losing Chrysler unit.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers 6 to 5 on volume of 1.40 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a narrow margin on volume of 1.77 billion shares.

Treasury prices gained, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.65 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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