By Elizabeth Stanton March 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks drifted between gains and losses as producers of energy and raw materials slipped on declines in commodity prices, while industrial and financial companies advanced. Newmont Mining Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. paced declines in mining and oil stocks. Intel Corp., General Electric Co. and Boeing Co. led gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, gained 1.3 percent after profit and sales increased in its second quarter. Tiffany & Co., American Superconductor Corp. and Paychex Inc. climbed following analyst upgrades. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1 percent to 1,165.75 as of 9:40 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 11.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,797.38. Stocks in Europe and Asia rose after companies from Legal & General Group Plc to Bank of China Ltd. posted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. “We remain positive on the markets and we believe that we could see further gains as there are still upgrades and positive earnings surprises,” said Peter Braendle, who helps oversee about $50 billion at Swisscanto Asset Management in Zurich. “In the short term we will continue to see volatility.” Existing Home Sales A National Association of Realtors’ report to be released at 10 a.m. in Washington is forecast to show sales of existing homes fell 1.1 percent in February to 5 million at an annual rate, according to the median forecast of 74 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Declines in existing home sales in December and January were the biggest on record after a federal tax credit boosted purchases in the previous three months. U.S. stocks rose yesterday as drugmakers gained after the House of Representatives passed an overhaul of the health-care industry and analyst upgrades lifted companies from Citigroup Inc. to Boeing Co. The S&P 500 ended yesterday less than 1 point below its highest close of the year on March 15, and the Dow average rose to the highest since Oct. 1, 2008. The aggregate profit for companies in the S&P 500 increased in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period for the first time since the second quarter of 2007. To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net.

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