NEW YORK - Wall Street shares closed slightly higher Tuesday as the first quarter earnings season began, with investors displaying caution ahead of a flurry of reports from corporate America.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up a modest 4.71 points (0.04 percent) at 12,573.85, while the Nasdaq composite closed 8.43 points (0.34 percent) higher at 2,477.61.
The Standard and Poor's 500 broad-market index ended up 3.78 points (0.26 percent) at 1,448.39.
Traders said stock market investors would likely remain wary until they gain a clearer insight into companies' earnings performance.
"The widely followed market averages traded in narrow ranges on slightly increased volume," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at AG Edwards.
Some analysts are upbeat as the earnings season kicks off, but other analysts are forecasting lackluster news from reporting companies.
"Analyst estimates call for disappointing earnings increases but analysts have a consistent history of being too pessimistic during this six-year economic expansion," Goldman said.
On the stock front, global banking giant Citigroup gained attention amid media reports suggesting it is on the verge of announcing a major overhaul of its operations that will see over 26,000 jobs eliminated or reassigned.
The New York Times said the jobs cuts and reassignments would affect over 26,000 employees but other reports suggested a lower number under 20,000 positions.
A Citigroup spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports, but the banking titan was due to announce the results of a wide-ranging review early Wednesday to investors.
Citigroup's stock closed up 82 cents at 52.40 dollars. Bank of America finished up 21 cents at 51.07 dollars while Wachovia ended 13 cents higher at 54.19 dollars.
Meanwhile, DR Horton, Inc., the biggest US homebuilder, said its orders for new homes had plummeted 37 percent in the last quarter as the slump in the US housing market continued to bite.
DR Horton said it booked 9.983 net sales orders for new homes in the quarter ended March 31, marking a hefty downturn from the same quarter of 2006.
"Market conditions for new home sales continue to be challenging in most of our markets as inventory levels of both new and existing homes remain high," said the home builder's chairman Donald Horton said.
DR Horton's stock closed down 34 cents at 21.70 dollars. Other home builders were also under pressure. Pulte Homes ended down 65 cents at 26.25 dollars while KB Home lost 57 cents to 41.96 dollars.
Higher oil prices capped stock gains, traders said.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, gained 38 cents to close at 61.89 dollars a barrel.
Bond prices also climbed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond dropped to 4.724 percent from 4.745 percent Monday and that on the 30-year bond fell to 4.906 percent against 4.916 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.