DJIA Posts Slim Gain; Bonds Rise --- Broader Market Fares Worse as Oil Falls; Dollar Ends Mixed
NEW YORK -- A fair-sized gain in stock prices withered away to practically nothing by the close, despite a big drop in oil futures.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 6.68-point rise in active trading to 2387.87, but broader market indexes fared worse: Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 0.16 to 298.76, and the New York Stock Exchange composite index dipped 0.05 to 163.59. More Big Board issues declined than rose.</br></br>Bond prices rose only slightly, as investors await the outcome of U.S. budget negotiations. The beleaguered dollar's mixed performance also weighed on the bond market.</br></br>The Dow industrials at midday were up 28 points, but the advance melted as the session wore on. "We're seeing extreme volatility because of a lack of depth to the stock market," said Barry Schrager, a money manager with Whether Partners in Eatontown, N.J. "The rallies we've seen recently are more the result of sellers stepping back. It's not buyers going in."</br></br>Ricky Harrington, investment policy director at Marion Bass Securities in Charlotte, N.C., said the rally attempt in stocks "wasn't any different from any other since July 16 and 17 when we hit the top," he said. "It's in the handful of blue chip stocks that a handful institutions continue to buy. The broad market continues to remain under pressure."