U.S. stocks flat as rally stalls

By Manuela Badawy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished little changed on Tuesday as investors paused after the Dow touched a 13-month high the previous day, while the U.S. dollar edged up from a 15-month low against major currencies.

Prices of U.S. government debt were also steady after the Treasury sold $25 billion of 10-year notes and sterling sank after a rating agency's comment on UK risk.

A day after stocks rallied on expectations that U.S. interest rates will stay near zero well into next year, investors took a breather and the market traded range-bound.

"Monetary and fiscal stimulus has clearly taken hold, and has resulted in an initial growth spurt that has been sharp and fast," noted Bob Doll, chief investment officer for global equities at BlackRock in New York.

"At some point, we believe markets will require clearer evidence that corporate revenue growth is sustainable, and unless or until that occurs, we should see some continued back-and-forth action in the markets."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended up 20.03 points, or 0.20 percent, at 10,246.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX ended down 0.07 point, or 0.01 percent, at 1,093.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC finished down 2.98 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,151.08.

Sterling fell broadly after Fitch Ratings said Britain was the major economy most at risk of losing its AAA rating. Sterling fell as low as $1.6600, before recovering to $1.6736.

The dollar traded up slightly against a basket of six major currencies, with the U.S. dollar index .DXY at 75.022. The euro eased 0.07 percent at $1.4982.