NEW YORK, USA — THE stock market rose modestly yesterday as renewed worries about a US-led attack on Syria dampened an early rally.

Stocks surged in the opening minutes of trading as traders felt that a US attack on Syria wasn’t imminent after President Barack Obama announced over the weekend that he would seek congressional approval for a strike.

But the early rally faded after the top Republican in Congress said he would support President Obama’s call for the US to take action. Speaking in the late morning, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said the use of chemical weapons must be responded to.

“Key Republicans seem to agree with Obama on Syria,” said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist for TD Ameritrade. “It puts us in a difficult situation as to what might happen from here.”

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 23.65 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 14,833.96. The index had climbed as much as 123 points in early trading.

The Dow was also held back by Microsoft and Verizon, which both slumped after announcing deals.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 6.80 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,639.77. The Nasdaq composite climbed 22.74 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 3,612.

The stock market also got an early boost from a report showing that US manufacturing expanded last month at the fastest pace since June 2011. The report was better than economists had expected, according to estimates compiled by data provider FactSet.

In corporate news, CBS surged US$2.40, or 2.7 per cent, to US$53.50 after the broadcaster and Time Warner Cable reached an agreement that ended a blackout of CBS and CBS-owned channels such as Showtime.