Stocks nudge higher as investors await word on bank loan repayments; Fiat sticks by Chrysler

Stocks edge higher as investors look to banks

NEW YORK — Investors are showing little reaction to word that 10 of nation’s largest banks can repay $68 billion in bailout money.

Stocks are moderately higher but traders are reacting coolly to the Treasury Department’s announcement that the banks, which were not named, will be allowed to repay the money they received from the $700 billion emergency rescue fund created by Congress at the height of the financial crisis in October.

Traders have been expecting that banks would be allowed to repay the money as they seek to escape restrictions on executive compensation and other areas.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 11 at 8,776. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 3 at 942, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 12 at 1,854.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are edging higher as investors await word on which banks might be able to repay government loans and as Fiat expressed its continued commitment to a deal with Chrysler.

The government is expected to announce as early as Tuesday which of the nation’s largest banks can repay government bailout loans provided to the sector last fall.

Investors appear reassured by comments from a Fiat spokesman that the Italian carmaker is committed to buying a controlling stake in the distressed U.S. automaker Chrysler despite a U.S. Supreme Court stay on the deal.

In the first few minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 9 to 8,773. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 3 to 942, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 9 to 1,850.