Stocks end slightly higher after rally fades

NEW YORK — The stock market rose modestly Tuesday as renewed worries about a U.S.-led attack on Syria dampened an early rally.

Stocks surged in the opening minutes of trading as traders felt that a U.S. attack on Syria wasn’t imminent after President Barack Obama announced over the weekend that he would seek congressional approval for a strike.

But the early rally faded after the top Republican in Congress said he would support President Obama’s call for the U.S. to take action.

Speaking in the late morning, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said the use of chemical weapons must be responded to.

“Key Republicans seem to agree with Obama on Syria,” said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist for TD Ameritrade. “It puts us in a difficult situation as to what might happen from here.”

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 23.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,833.96. The index had climbed as much as 123 points in early trading.

The Dow was also held back by Microsoft and Verizon, which both slumped after announcing deals.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 6.80 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,639.77. The Nasdaq composite climbed 22.74 points, or 0.6 percent, to 3,612.

The stock market also got an early boost from a report showing that U.S. manufacturing expanded last month at the fastest pace since June 2011. The report was better than economist had expected, according to estimates compiled by data provider FactSet.

September has often been a losing month for the stock market. Since 1945, the S&P 500 index has slumped nearly six out of every 10 Septembers, with an average loss of 0.6 percent.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.86 percent from 2.79 percent Friday. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Labor Day.

In commodities trading, the price of oil rose 89 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $108.54. The price of gold rose $15.90, or 1.1 percent, $1,412 an ounce.