A shortfall in gasoline and heating oil pushed crude prices back above the $54 level, solidly reversing a two-day retreat. Inventories of distillate fuels, which include heating oil and diesel, fell for a fifth week, renewing worries that high energy prices will eventually slow consumer spending and dent corporate bottom lines. The data also distracted investors from a slew of profit reports.

"This will go down as the earnings season that fell on deaf ears," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "The major news is oil prices, and what that will do to consumer demand, the economy, corporate profits and the future. That's the driver. Does it have an effect? It is the focus. It's larger than earnings, and right now it's larger than the election."

According to preliminary results, the Dow Jones industrial average sagged 10.69, or 0.11 percent, to 9,886.93.

The broader gauges were higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.43, or 0.04 percent, to 1,103.66. The Nasdaq composite index closed 10.07, or 0.52 percent, at 1,932.97, partly due to strength in the chip sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index advanced 1.31 percent a day after bellwether International Business Machines Corp. delivered better-than-expected earnings and an upbeat forecast for high-tech spending.

Growing concern about how much energy prices will weigh on the economy in the months ahead kept Wall Street's attention riveted on oil prices. Fears about a narrowing global supply cushion sent crude dashing from $35 a barrel to $55 a barrel in just seven weeks, and the fact that oil remains at lofty levels has cast a long shadow over stocks. The government's inventory report, which showed lower-than-expected supplies of crude and refined products, sent oil futures surging $1.63 to settle at $54.92 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A number of other factors were pressuring stocks as well, including the ongoing investigation of the insurance industry by the New York attorney general's office, recent negative news for big drug makers and general uncertainty surrounding the presidential race. Investors have also been watching earnings reports for signals that the economy might pick up before the end of the year, but indicators have been mixed so far. Some analysts remained upbeat, noting that the fourth quarterly tends to be a seasonally strong period.