US STOCKS-Wall St rally stalls but Dow ekes out gain

                                

                                
 * MBIA shares fall 26.7 pct a day after results
                                
 * S&P 500 edges lower after six straight days of gains
                                
 * Dow up 0.2 pct; S&P down 0.1 pct; Nasdaq off 0.1 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to close)
                                
 By Rodrigo Campos
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S stocks closed mostly lower
 on Tuesday as differing views on whether the market can build
on recent gains stalled the S&P 500's six-day winning streak.
                                
 The Dow industrials eked out a small gain to set a fresh
13-month high as cautious statements on the economic outlook
from several Fed officials underscored the belief that easy
monetary policy will remain intact well into next year. For
details see [ID:nN10315173].
                                
 "There's a lot of conflicting signals as to whether we get
a sharp year-end rally with money pouring in, or whether we
start to see profit-taking as investors look ahead to a
potential jobless recovery in 2010," said Michael Sheldon,
chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport,
Connecticut.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 20.03
points, or 0.20 percent, to end at 10,246.97. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 0.07 of a point, or 0.01 percent,
to 1,093.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 2.98
points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,151.08.
                                
 Shares of Dow component American Express Co <AXP.N> rose
1.6 percent to $39.68 after the company said credit card
spending increased in October from September in another sign
that the worst of the financial crisis may be over for the
largest U.S. credit-card company. [ID:nN10322100]
                                
 Home builders' shares took a hit, with the Dow Jones home
construction index <.DJUSHB> down 2 percent after data from the
National Association of Realtors showed home prices fell in the
third quarter from year-ago levels in about 80 percent of U.S.
cities.
                                
 DR Horton Inc <DHI.N> fell 3.6 percent to $11.69 and KB
Home <KBH.N> dropped 3.3 percent to $14.68.
                                
 Among financials, MBIA Inc's <MBI.N> shares plummeted 26.7
percent to $3.52 a day after the bond insurer posted a
third-quarter loss. [ID:nN03307342].
                                
 Regional bank Zions Bancorp <ZION.O> tumbled 7.6 percent to
$13.26 and the KBW bank index fell 1.4 percent.
                                
 On the upside, Monsanto Co <MON.N> shares rose 5.2 percent
to $73.66 after the company said it had raised expectations for
accelerated launches of new products.
                                
 American International Group <AIG.N> rose 3.9 percent to
$37.59 after ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said the
insurer probably will be able to repay the government's bailout
and much of its preferred equity stake. [ID:nN10305295].
                                
 Shares of online travel agency Priceline.com <PCLN.O>
jumped 17.6 percent to $204.22 a day after the company reported
earnings that beat forecasts. [ID:nN10310672]
                                
 Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.07
billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated
daily average of 1.49 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.01
billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of 2.28
billion.
                                
 Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 3 to 2, while on the Nasdaq, nearly two stocks
fell for every one that rose.
 (Editing by Jan Paschal)