Major Indexes Mixed After Two-Day Selloff

The stock struggled to get in gear Wednesday.

Stocks finished mixed as traders licked their wounds in the wake of a two-day selloff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 6 at 8497. The Nasdaq gained 11 at 1808, and the S&P 500 slipped 1 to 910.

Commodities continued their steady decline, weighing down the energy and materials sectors. Energy prices were flat after an Energy Department report showed crude inventories fell last week. Oil traded up 43 cents at $70.90 a barrel.

The financial sector was a bit lower as traders digested the details of the Obama administration's proposal for a regulatory overhaul. The plan calls for the closure of the Office of Thrift Supervision and more transparency in alternative investment vehicales like hedge funds. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported 10 large U.S. banks began repaying $68 billion in TARP funds Wednesday. The banks include Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS) and BB&T (BBT). 

Also in Washington, the Senate Health Committee prepared to begin a series of meetings to discuss the Obama health care plan, which is now estimated to cost upwards of $1 trillion. At the same time, the Senate Finance Committee is formulating it own health care plan, a version which is expected to be more modest in scope and more bipartisan in appeal.

The tech sector got a boost from relatively bullish comments from Cisco's John Chambers. On CNBC he mentioned he has seen business level off the last few months. That was one of the main reasons for the Nasdaq outpacing the other major indexes. Texas Instruments (TXN) shares increased, helping with the rally, too. 

In economic news, consumer prices crept up in May, according to the lastest reading of the Consumer Price Index. The CPI crept 0.1% after holding steady in April, while the core number, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1%, as well.

In earnings, FedEx (FDX) reported a wider fourth-quarter loss and predicted first-quarter results below analysts' estimates. FedEx's earnings are often used to gauge the health of the broader economy.

World markets were mixed. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei picked up 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 0.5%. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE dipped 1.2%.