Thursday

Bullish comments from Citigroup's chief executive boosted the financial sector, which led a modest gain in the market today. Major indexes struggled in a narrow range through much of the section, hurt by the latest economic releases from the U.S. and China. But as the last hour of trading began, the market made a run into positive territory. Recovery-sensitive sectors like energy, materials, and industrials were hurt by concerns about a possible tightening of Chinese monetary policy after new data showed a rise in the country's consumer price index for February that was higher than expected. In other markets, the dollar weakened against the euro but improved versus the yen. DJIA +44.51 Nasdaq +9.51 +4.63.