S&P trades above record, closes under

NEW YORK - For a third straight day, the Standard & Poor's 500 index traded above its record close but fell back to end below it. An early move higher Wednesday was led by retailers and home builders, but the gains mostly petered out in the afternoon. By the closing bell, the index was up just a fraction of a point.

While investors seem comfortable attributing the recent weakness in economic reports to the unusually cold weather, they also appear reluctant to push stocks higher before they see more evidence of growth.

The S&P 500 edged up four-hundredths of a point to close at 1,845.16, three points short of its record high close of 1,848.38, set Jan. 15. The index climbed as high as 1,852.65.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 18.75, or 0.12 percent, to 16,198.41. The Nasdaq composite rose 4.48 points, or 0.10 percent, to 4,292.06.

Home-builder stocks rose sharply after the government reported that U.S. sales of new homes jumped in January at the fastest pace in more than five years. That's a hopeful sign after a slowdown in the housing market last year caused by higher interest rates. PulteGroup rose 57 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $21.25 and Lennar rose $1.52, or 3.6 percent, to $43.78.

Retailers rose after several encouraging earnings reports.

Lowe's climbed $2.61, or 5.4 percent, to $50.72. The company's net income rose 6 percent in the most recent quarter as the home-improvement retailer continued to benefit from a recovery in the housing market. The company also announced a new $5 billion stock repurchase program.

Abercrombie & Fitch jumped $4.05, or 11.3 percent, to $40.04 after posting earnings that exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts. The retailer also initiated a $150 million accelerated share buyback program.

Investors may get a catalyst to push stocks higher on Thursday when Janet Yellen, the new head of the Federal Reserve, testifies in front of the Senate Banking Committee. Stocks jumped Feb. 11 when Yellen spoke to Congress, and said that she would continue the central bank's market-friendly, low-interest-rate policies.

Among other stocks making big moves, Barnes & Noble rose 75 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $18.47 after reporting a third-quarter profit. Cost cuts at the company's Nook e-reader unit and elsewhere helped offset declining revenue.

Chesapeake Energy fell $1.33, or 4.9 percent, to $25.61 after the oil and natural gas company reported a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by one-time charges. The company's adjusted earnings came in lower than Wall Street expected.