Gains by Energy Stocks Evened Out by Losses Elsewhere

Stocks closed little changed on Wall Street as gains in energy companies were canceled out by losses in banks and other parts of the market, the AP reports. Oil and gas companies benefited from broad increases in energy prices. Chesapeake Energy jumped 6.8% and Range Resources rose 4.2%. Staples jumped 9.8% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the office supplies company is talking to private equity firms about a potential sale.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 1 point to 2,360. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39 points, or 0.2%, to 20,689. The Nasdaq composite gained 4 points, or 0.1%, to 5,898.