Tuesday

A continuing retreat in energy prices boosted consumer stocks, helping the market to a small gain to keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 11,000. The average's gains were tempered, however, by a 1.6% drop in Alcoa on the heels of its results late Monday, which marked the unofficial start of the broader first-quarter earnings season. Today's trading highlighted investors' increasing focus on how gasoline prices might affect spending on other goods heading into summer, when many Americans take off on car trips. At the same time, participants are hoping to see a continued U.S. economic rebound fueled at least in part by consumer spending. In other markets, the dollar strengthened against the euro but weakened against the yen. DJIA +13.45 Nasdaq +8.12 S&P 500 +.82.