YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: There were plenty of headlines today, but participants were focused on the upcoming FOMC policy statement. Uncertainty ahead of the directive left stocks to trade listlessly for most of the session, but a late rally helped stocks finish near session highs.

Though it closed near its best level, the stock market finished flat for the session as the S&P 500 got hung up on the 1150 line in the final few minutes of trade. The line, which marks a 52-week closing high for the S&P 500, also acted as a source of resistance in the early going.

A stronger dollar had hampered stocks for the better part of the session, too. However, the greenback's 0.5% gain did little to dissuade participants from offering support in the final few minutes of trade.

The stock market's late move came amid a spike in share volume, but trading volume for the session as a whole was weak. The lack of overall participation precedes the latest policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which will issue its directive prior to tomorrow's opening bell. Most participants thought it prudent to remain on the sidelines for fear of being out of position when the FOMC offers its latest assessment of economic conditions and its outlook for monetary policy.

On a similar note, Japan reportedly upgraded its assessment of its economy for the first time in eight months, but the upgrade had been expected. Meanwhile, concerns persist that China may have to tighten monetary policy in order to cool conditions.

The latest U.S. data did little to stir action ahead of tomorrow's FOMC policy statement. Industrial production for February increased 0.1%, which is slightly better than the the flat reading that had been expected, while at 72.7% capacity utilization for the month was in-line with expectations. The Empire Manufacturing Index for March hit 22.9, which is a bit better than the 22.0 that was widely forecast, but not quite as strong as the 24.9 that had been posted for February.

Senator Dodd gave bank stocks a bit of a spook with his proposal for financial reform this afternoon. Dodd dashed hopes for a diluted reform proposal with his call for stringent policies to limit risk imposed on the financial system by major institutions. Bank stocks bounced back, though; the KBW Bank Index finished with a modest 0.2% gain. That was enough to trim the broader financial sector's loss to just 0.1% after it had been down more than 1%.

Health care stocks also made a strong move into the close. The sector finished with a 0.5% gain, though Boston Scientific (BSX 6.80, -0.98) continued to lag. The company confirmed reports that it stopped shipment of certain products amid a pending FDA documentation review linked to paperwork error for manufacturing processes.

The best gains came from the consumer staples sector. It finished 0.8% higher. It was helped by PepsiCo (PEP 66.15, +1.05), which hiked its dividend and issued a share repurchase plan, and Wal-Mart (WMT 55.42, +1.52), which was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup.

The US Dollar Index remained strong and stayed just under highs for the rest of today's session, which provided weakness to select commodities.

After hitting session lows of $79.13 per barrel, April crude oil traded only slightly above that level for the rest of today's session as the dollar index remained strong. By the end of pit trading, the energy component finished 1.8% lower at $79.76 per barrel.

April natural gas pulled off of afternoon highs of $4.45 per MMBtu and fell into negative territory. By the end of today's session, it closed modestly lower at $4.395, down $0.08.

April gold continued its small rally that began around 12:00ET and finished the day 0.3% higher at $1105.60 per ounce. May silver closed modestly higher, after rallying with gold in early afternoon trade

Advancing Sectors: Consumer Staples (+0.8%), Telecom (+0.5%), Health Care (+0.5%), Utilities (+0.5%), Industrials (+0.2%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-1.0%), Tech (-0.3%), Materials (-0.3%), Financials (-0.1%) DJ30 +17.46 NASDAQ -5.45 NQ100 -0.2% R2K -0.3% SP400 -0.2% SP500 +0.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1103/1.91 bln/1560 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1263/926 mln/1733