NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average struggled higher today, but stocks were mostly lower in nervous trading before tomorrow's congressional testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. Dow rises 16
The Dow gained 16.26 points to close at 7,906.72 after erasing an early 50-point deficit. The blue-chip barometer hit 8,000 for the first time last Wednesday, but then lost 150 points over the next two sessions.
Decliners led advancers by more than a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 958 up, 1,932 down and 522 unchanged. NYSE volume was 459.49 million shares vs. 585.61 million Friday.
Broad-market indicators slumped for the third consecutive session, led by the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which had set record highs for 10 consecutive sessions through Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 2.32 to 912.98, and the NYSE index dropped 1.47 to 474.50. The Nasdaq index fell 12.25 to 1,535.74, and the American Stock Exchange composite lost 3.19 to 630.40.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was down 4/32 point by late afternoon while its yield was quoted at 6.54 percent, up 6.53 percent late Friday.
Few observers expected the market to see any decisive activity until after Greenspan delivers his semiannual report to the House of Representatives and the Senate tomorrow and Wednesday.
Stocks and bonds tumbled after his last Humprey-Hawkins testimony in December, when he warned that higher interest rates may be needed to temper the market's "irrational exuberance."