NEW YORK — Investors can’t shake their worries that the economy won’t recover by the end of the year.

That tone could improve today thanks to a narrower-than-expected loss from Alcoa Inc., which ushered in the second quarter earnings season after the closing bell Wednesday. The aluminum producer’s shares rose 6 percent in after-hours trading.

Traders also will also be watching retail sales figures coming out today to see if slippage in consumer confidence translated into a weaker take at cash registers.

Another tumble in oil prices dragged energy shares lower on Wednesday and reflected concerns that demand for resources will remain weak as the economy struggles. More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange, but major indicators ended mixed.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 14.81, or 0.2 percent, to 8,178.41.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.47, or 0.2 percent, to 879.56 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.00, or 0.1 percent, to 1,747.17. Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit levels not seen since May 1.

About two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.9 billion shares compared with 4.6 billion Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it expects the world economy to shrink by 1.4 percent in 2009, slightly worse than its earlier estimate of 1.3 percent. But it boosted its estimate for global economic growth in 2010 to 2.5 percent, up from its April projection of 1.9 percent.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell for a sixth straight day, dropping $2.79 to settle at $60.14 a barrel, tumbling sharply from an eight-month high of $73 in just one week.

The falling price of oil has contributed to selling on world exchanges this week. The major U. S. indexes lost at least 2 percent Tuesday, including the Dow, which fell 161 points.