NEW YORK (AP) - Investors are finding it hard to extend Wall Street's two-month rally.

Stocks ended mixed but well off their lows yesterday as early concerns about a barrage of stock offerings eased and as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks. The Dow Jones industrials rose 50 points, while broader indicators fell.

Investors shifted into defensive corners of the market, driving up shares of drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. and food and drink producers like Coca-Cola Inc., which tend to hold up better in economic downturns.

The fluctuations came as some traders worried that the economic recovery won't be as brisk as hoped when stocks were posting big gains over the past eight weeks. A flurry of stock offerings from companies trying to raise cash has stirred concerns about the loss in value that existing shares would incur as more shares are issued.

But the dip also brought investors looking to jump into the market that has rallied more than 30 percent since early March.

"You have people who missed this mammoth rally and now those people are taking the opportunity on any pullback to buy," said Jeffrey Frankel, president of Stuart Frankel & Co. in New York.

The financial stocks that pounded the market to 12-year lows in March and then led the bounce higher fell for a second day. Even after sliding this week, bank shares have roughly doubled since early March, as measured by the KBW Bank Index.

Investors also pulled money from technology stocks after the Nasdaq composite index closed at a six-month high last week.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 50.34, or 0.6 percent, to 8,469.11 after falling 155 on Monday. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.89, or 0.1 percent, to 908.35 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.32, or 0.9 percent, to 1,715.92.

Analysts said a break in the market's ascent had been overdue. The jump came as economic and corporate reports signaled the economy could be stabilising, though in many cases not improving.

Matt Lloyd, chief investment strategist at Advisors Asset Management Inc., said investors have only hit pause, not stop on the rally and that a slowdown in the climb after the surge from March is healthy.

"We need to kind of walk at a brisk pace as opposed to sprint," he said.

The market retreated on Monday after four banks announced plans to raise capital by selling common stock. Investors worried that the extra supply of shares in circulation could push prices lower.

Traders grew nervous yesterday after Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s stock fell below the $45.50 offering price for a sale of 30 million shares. The stock ended above the offering price, at $45.91, a loss of $2.93, or six percent.

Some banks selling stock fell for a second day. Regions Financial tumbled 57 cents, or 9.6 percent, to $5.35 after falling 9.3 percent on Monday.

Detroit also caught the attention of investors worried about seeing the value of their shares diluted. Ford Motor Co. announced plans to raise cash through a common stock offering. Unlike General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC, Ford has been able to avoid needing government aid amid a sharp downturn in auto sales.

Ford fell $1.07, or 17.6 percent, to $5.01.

GM shares tumbled to their lowest level since 1933 as investors worried that their shares would lose value if more are issued or the company declares bankruptcy. The company faces a June 1 restructuring deadline.

The automaker's shareholders would be competing with bondholders, the US government and the UAW for stock if the company is reorganised. GM, one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials, fell 29 cents, or 20.1 percent, to $1.15.

In other trading, Dow-components Pfizer rose 78 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $14.93, while Coca Cola rose $1.65, or 3.9 percent, to $44.40.

Homebuilders fell after the National Association of Realtors said home prices slid in nearly nine out of every 10 US cities in the first three months of the year as first-time buyers in search of bargains dominated the market.

Pulte Homes Inc. fell 52 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $10.71, while Toll Brothers Inc. fell 48 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $19.82.

Energy stocks rose as crude rose above $60 a barrel for the first time since early November before settling on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $58.85 per barrel, a gain of 35 cents.

Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 1.55, or 2.2 percent, to $70.82, while Schlumberger Ltd. rose 98 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $55.75.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 6.76, or 1.4 percent, to 495.18.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.6 billion shares.

Bond prices fell but pulled off their lows after the Federal Reserve bought about $6 billion in government debt yesterday as part of its effort to drive down interest rates and reduce the costs of loans like mortgages.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.18 percent from 3.17 percent late on Monday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.6 percent.