Stocks show little change; oil passes $116

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were pretty much held in check by a number of issues Tuesday while crude oil prices climbed amid worries about Hurricane Gustav.

Stocks were deterred by continued weakness in the housing market, a lowered economic forecast from the Federal Reserve and the latest oil price increase.

The Dow Jones industrial average finally pulled out of the red in late dealings to close up 26.62 point, or 0.23 percent, at 11,412.87.

Nasdaq was down 3.62, or 0.15 percent a 2,361.97 and the Standard & Poor 500 was up 4.67, or 0.37 percent, at 1,271.51.

Crude oil futures closed up 1.07 a $16.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Traders were focused on the hurricane and its movement toward the Gulf of Mexico, a major offshore drilling and energy-transport hub. The National Hurricane Center said most indications are the storm "will be an extremely dangerous hurricane.

Oil prices, in turn, were partially held in check by the strengthening dollar. The euro dropped sharply against the U.S. currency and traded at $1.4627, compared to $1.4754 against the dollar Monday.

Treasury prices fell. The two-year note slipped 2/32 to yield 2.362 percent.