NEW YORK — Stocks ended an erratic session mixed yesterday as investors weighed slightly higher oil prices against strong earnings from companies including Verizon Communications Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc.

Crude oil futures settled at $59.12 a barrel, up 20 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The stock market isn't reacting to solid earnings because "there's much more discounting of risk than there has been in the past — the risk of higher oil prices, the risk of higher interest rates," said Hans F. Olsen, managing director and chief investment officer at Bingham Legg Advisers, a private wealth management firm in Boston. "This has been buffeting the stock market for the better part of a the year."

Stocks also stumbled in early trading after Chinese officials suggested that last week's revaluation of the yuan may have been an isolated step. The Chinese currency will be pegged to a basket of currency instead of being pegged solely to the dollar, but investors hope the yuan will eventually be allowed to float.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index edged lower in July — to 103.2, from June's reading of 106.2 — after three months of gains.

Advancing issues led decliners by roughly 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange where preliminary consolidated volume came to 1.93 billion shares, up from 1.72 billion Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.59, or 0.54 percent, to 674.58.

Bonds were higher.

The dollar was up against the euro.

Gold prices were flat.