Bargain Hunters Halt Stock Slide; Dow Climbs 17 Points
NEW YORK, Aug. 16-Bargainhunting investors rescued the stock market from another decline today, boosting prices in a moderate rally that overcame bad news about the nationÛªs trade deficit.</br></br>The Dow Jones average of 30 industrial stocks, which fell 33.25 points Monday to its lowest close in nearly three months, recovered about half the loss by the end of trading, up 17.24 to 2021.51. Broader market indicators also advanced.</br></br>Brokers called the rally largely a technical reaction to the marketÛªs recent declines based on fear of rising interest rates, which erode the relative worth of stocks. Between Aug. 3 and Monday, the Dow aver-</br></br>Stocks, bonds and the dollarÛªs value initially fell when the Commerce Department reported a larger-than-expected June trade deficit of $12.5 billion, which suggested the U.S. currency would have to decline to make U.S. products more competitive and discourage AmericaÛªs relentless appetite for imports.</br></br>But the impact of the trade report was reversed by investors who quickly stepped in to buy stocks when prices reached what appeared to be bargain levels, brokers said.