NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks ended mixed yesterday after a rise in bank shares offset drops in some technology names.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped about four points, while broader indexes rose. Interest rates fell after spiking on Monday.

For a second day, the Dow came within about a dozen points of reaching the psychological milestone of 11,000 for the first time in 18 months.

Shares of regional banks rose following upbeat comments from analysts. Tech stocks were mixed after business software company CA Inc. said earnings for the year will come in at the lower end of its forecast. CA also said it would cut 1,000 jobs, or about eight percent of its work force.

Massey Energy Co. fell more than 11 percent after an underground explosion on Monday afternoon blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners about 30 miles south of Charleston, West Virginia.

Four others were missing yesterday following the explosion about 1.5 miles from the entrance to Massey's Upper Big Branch mine. It was the worst US mining disaster since 1984.

Stocks got a brief bounce in afternoon trading when the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting signaled that policymakers are more upbeat about the economy. Analysts said, however, that the minutes contained few surprises.

The quiet trading came as investors looked for clues about whether the market could continue its upward march. Stocks have been rising for 13 months but have made steadier advances since February following reports that signal the economy is improving.

There have been few pauses during the recent gains that have seen the Dow rise in each of the past five weeks, its longest winning streak since mid-April last year.

Jason Pride, director of investment strategy at Glenmede in Philadelphia, said the market is making modest moves in part because stocks appear to be trading at fair levels.

"We're not at some steep discount but we're not at some overly optimistic level either," he said.

Companies will begin reporting earnings for the January-March quarter next week so traders will have a better sense of whether the recent climb in stocks is justified.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 3.56, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,969.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose two points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,189.44. The Nasdaq composite index rose 7.28, or 0.3 percent, to 2,436.81.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.96 percent from 3.99 percent late on Monday.

The 10-year yield climbed above four percent during trading on Monday for the first time since June. It is approaching levels not seen since October 2008.

The dollar rose against other major currencies. Gold rose.

Crude oil rose 22 cents to $86.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reaching an 18-month high of $87.09 a barrel.

Among stocks, Regions Financial rose 36 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $8.55 after Credit Suisse raised its price target on the bank.

Shares of SunTrust Banks Inc. rose after Credit Suisse said foreign banks could see SunTrust as an attractive takeover target. The stock rose 97 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $28.71.

CA shares fell 45 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $23.40.

Massey shares fell $6.24, or 11.4 percent, to $48.45.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 936.2 million shares compared with 902.4 million on Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.83, or 0.6 percent, to 701.48.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.5 percent.