NEW YORK -- Blue-chip stocks managed slim gains today, but the broad market was mixed again after drifting through a lazy holiday session with no bond trading or major economic reports to motivate investors. Dow gains 6
The Dow Jones industrial average narrowly averted its fourth straight losing session, rising 6.14 points to close at 7,558.73.
Decliners led advancers by a 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,336 up, 1,483 down and 593 unchanged. NYSE volume was 434.60 million shares vs. 463.43 million yesterday.
Broader blue-chip measures also turned higher just before the close, but those indexes dominated by smaller companies and technology issues failed to recover.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list rose 2.65 to 923.78, and the NYSE composite index gained 0.79 to 485.66. But the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.97 to 433.43, the Nasdaq index fell 5.86 to 1,584.86, and the American Stock Exchange composite index dropped 0.04 to 680.43.
With the Treasury market closed for Veterans Day and a Federal Reserve meeting looming tomorrow, there was little conviction behind the stock market's moves in either direction.
While Fed officials might be tempted to raise interest rates to ease inflationary pressures in this country, such a move is unlikely because it could fuel another wave of global financial turmoil.
The Dow's weakest components were Eastman Kodak Co., which fell sharply after announcing a cost-cutting plan that will eliminate 10,000 jobs, and Caterpillar Inc., which fell after a downgrade by Oppenheimer.