Stocks Inch Up Amid Light Trading; Major Indexes Trade in Narrow Ranges
NEW YORK -- Small stocks rose in light trading as investors' tentativeness continued to prevent the market from establishing direction.</br></br>Some selective bargain-hunting took place, but investors mostly reacted to news on individual issues, leaving a scattering of gains and declines.</br></br>Major indexes traded in very narrow ranges. The Russell 2000 Index, which measures small-capitalization issues that trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market and the other major exchanges, inched up 0.41, or 0.17%, to 247.65.</br></br>The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.26, or 0.30%, to finish at 745.84.</br></br>The breadth of the market was positive for the day, with advancers ahead of decliners, 1,752 to 1,424, on Nasdaq total volume of 290.3 million shares, compared with the previous day's 248.7 million shares.