Stocks fluctuated today, dipping in and out of positive territory, after a regional manufacturing report pointed to slumping demand and rising prices.

Another report, from a private business group, said its forecast of future economic activity ticked higher by 0.1% in May. The findings from the New York-based Conference Board were in line with expectations but indicated that the economy is slack.

The manufacturing picture from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve stirred some concern that a drop in demand and increases in prices for commodities like oil are buffeting some businesses.

The reports ultimately didn’t give investors much reason to go bargain hunting a day after a triple-digit decline in the Dow Jones industrials.

Concerns about tight credit have returned amid profit declines at major investment banks and signals that the industry is going to have to raise more cash. With the nation’s money centers under stress, it appears the economy will have a hard time rebounding; borrowing is essential to growth.

“We think the market is in a period of transition,” the chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities at St. Louis, Alfred Goldman, said.

He said the economic news arriving today wasn’t unexpected and that mixed reports will likely continue and unnerve some investors. “In such an environment confidence is often very thin,” Mr. Goldman said.

In midday trading, the Dow rose 19.46, or 0.16%, to 12,048.52. The Dow fell below the 12,000 mark in yesterday’s trading for the first time since mid-March. The blue chips finished above that level, however.

Broader stock measures advanced a bit. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 0.23, or 0.0226%, to 1,338.04, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 18.61, or 0.77%, to 2,448.32.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 588.6 million shares.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 4.21% from 4.14% late yesterday.

The dollar traded mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Crude oil futures fell $4.14 to $132.54 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after China disclosed plans to raise oil prices. Such a move could dampen demand.

Mr. Goldman said the level of pessimism indicates that the market could be poised for a turnaround, but added: “Oil is still the 800-pound gorilla that’s affecting everybody’s thinking, but oil is beginning to act a little bit tired and toppy.”

Earlier, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment declined by 5,000 last week from the previous week. The decrease was a bit smaller than expected, and the four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile indicator, rose — a sign that the American job market remains strained.

In earnings news, Circuit City Stores Inc. posted a first-quarter loss that was wider than last year’s due to sinking sales at established stores. The electronics retailer also said it is suspending its dividend. The company’s per-share loss was slightly smaller than analysts expected, but its revenue was lower. Circuit City fell 26 cents, or 6.4%, to $3.79.

Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. said it doesn’t think it will be able to acquire fellow chemicals maker Huntsman Corp. because of the deterioration of Huntsman’s finances. Huntsman fell $8.04, or 39%, to $12.82.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.24, or 0.03%, to 730.47.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average sank 2.23%. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.55%, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.42%, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.22%.