& #8226; National

Rising oil prices and the return of a bond market anomaly cut into Wall Street’s early gains Wednesday, leaving stocks with only a modest advance. The market pulled back in response to a jump in oil prices after Iran’s oil minister said OPEC should consider lowering its output by 1 million barrels a day at its Jan. 31 meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.49, or 0.2 percent, to 10,796.26. The S & P; 500 edged up 1.63, or 0.1 percent, to 1,258.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.05, or 0.1 percent, to 2,228.94.

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& #8226; Local


Local movers were led by Arden Group Inc., which gained 3.7 percent to $90, and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., which edged up 1.9 percent to $62.37. On the down side, Daily Journal Corp. dropped 2.3 percent to $45.04 and Amgen Inc. fell 0.7 percent to $79.70.

Shares of Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. jumped 35.2 percent to $5.80 after the Culver City-based provider of medical services said late Tuesday that its earnings for the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 increased to 13 cents a share from 11 cents a year earlier.

Ryland Group Inc. and KB Home fell 0.9 percent to $72.58 and 1.7 percent to $72.96, respectively, after the Conference Board reported that its survey of consumer confidence found that consumers were more likely to buy a car and major appliances in the next six months than they did in November, but were less likely to buy a home. Its index of consumer sentiment rose in December to 103.6 from November’s 98.3. A separate report by the Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage applications fell to a more than 3-1/2-year low last week amid a sharp drop in demand for loan refinancing.