U.S. shares hesitant amid energy and inflation concerns

The S&P 500 ticked down 0.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq traded declined less than 0.1%, Nasdaq also reversed lower in afternoon trading but ended up close to breakeven. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas intermediate crude oil futures hovered near a seven-year high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined slightly in today’s stock market after trading positive earlier and lost 0.2%.

At around 1:30 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq composite traded close to breakeven. The Dow Jones traded down around 0.1%. The S&P 500 also declined 0.1%, while the Russell 2000 gained 0.6% and was the only index holding onto its earlier gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118 points, or 0.3%, the S&P 500 index declined 0.2% to 4,350, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.1% to 14,465. The small-capitalization Russell 2000 index , however, was headed for a close in positive territory, up 0.4%. Markets have been choppy amid concerns about slowing growth here and abroad and worries that inflation.

Volume was running higher on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq vs. the same time on Monday. The price of crude oil traded 0.3% higher as the commodity continued trading above $80 per barrel on Tuesday.

Oil reached as high as $81.15 a barrel earlier this week. Global oil supplies remain tight amid a rebounding global economy. This has forced prices higher.

Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) traded down 0.5%, slipping for its second day in a row. Shares fell below a cup base with a 56.75 buy point. The energy sector has hosted several breakout stocks in recent weeks, bucking the overall market correction.

Stocks breaking out earlier this week included oil and gas firm Williams Cos. (WMB) and Hess (HES), an oil and gas exploration company. Callon Petroleum (CPE) and EOG Resources (EOG) are also near buy points.

On Tuesday, bank stocks BlackRock (BLK) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) traded down less than 1% apiece. Both banks are set to report earnings Wednesday. Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are set to report earnings Thursday.