NEW YORK — Stocks fluctuated in a narrow range today as investors searched for direction following last week's steep losses and anxiously watched the direction of oil prices.

After wavering, light, sweet crude rose 96 cents to $136.32 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The advance came even after Saudi Arabia said over the weekend at a summit that it was willing to boost production again if consumers require more oil.

With little economic data scheduled for Monday, investors have little to focus on but the price of oil and the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, which lets out on Wednesday. Most investors expect the Fed to keep its key federal funds rate on hold, and in its economic statement, emphasize the rising threat of inflation.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average edged up 1.14, or 0.01 percent, to 11,843.83.

Broader stock indicators traded mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.43, or 0.11 percent, to 1,319.36 and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 2.25, or 0.09 percent, to 2,403.84.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.14 percent from 4.17 percent late Friday. The dollar weakened against most other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

The modest moves Monday follow a rough week that ended with a plunge Friday amid worries about the financial and automotive sectors and a resurgence in oil prices. The major indexes dropped by more than 1.5 percent Friday, and the Dow fell more than 200 points to close at its lowest level since March.

The financial sector's woes continue: The Wall Street Journal has reported more job cuts in Citigroup Inc.'s investment banking division, and The Financial Times has reported job cuts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Citigroup fell 36 cents to $18.94, while $3.97, or 2.2 percent, to $179.80. Goldman fell $4.67, or 2.54 percent to $179.10.

Declining issues narrowly outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 120.8 million shares.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.89, or 0.12 percent, to 724.88.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.61 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.64 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.63 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.51 percent.