U.S. Stocks Are Little Changed as Oil Surges, Copper Retreats

U.S. stocks were little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index poised for the biggest fourth-quarter rally since 1999, while oil gained as higher-than-estimated consumer confidence helped offset concern about a drop in American home prices. Copper and gold declined.

The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,265.43 at 4 p.m. New York time, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.65 points to 12,291.35. Both are among the 10 best performers in 2011 among 91 national indexes tracked by Bloomberg, and the S&P 500 has surged 12 percent this quarter. Crude jumped 1.7 percent after Iran threatened to block transportation through the Straight of Hormuz. Copper lost 1.7 percent, and gold fell 0.7 percent.