Today's Markets

Stocks staged a feeble follow-up to the previous session's heated rally, as oil prices resumed their record run and investors responded to a round of corporate dealmaking and better-than-expected economic data.

In large part, they focused Tuesday on a series of contradictory signals regarding the fate of U.S. consumers, whose spending on everything from digital music players to clothes to meals at restaurants drives corporate profits.

New data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday suggest that such spending has been relatively stable lately despite the slowing economy. Still, many analysts worry that persistently high pump prices will reduce Americans' ability ...