Drifting Dow Manages to Close 10.15 Higher
The stock market drifted in a narrow range today, continuing the indecisive pattern that has prevailed since the start of the week.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 10.15 to 2,504.21.
Advancing issues nosed out declines on the New York Stock Exchange, with 758 up, 718 down and 493 unchanged.
Big Board volume totaled 149.29 million shares, against 146.30 million in the previous session.
The NYSE’s composite index inched up .10 to 170.60.
The price of crude oil for December delivery climbed more than $1.50 a barrel, to the neighborhood of $31 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Analysts said that helped to put a damper on buying interest in the stock market, along with persistent worries about the economic outlook.
The Commerce Department reported that new factory orders for durable goods dropped 1.7% in September, on top of a downward-revised decline of 0.8% in August.
The latest decrease stemmed mainly from a drop in transportation orders, which are often subject to wide short-term fluctuations. But brokers said it still came as something of an unpleasant surprise to investors.
Government bond prices slumped today as investors fled the market in disgust over lawmakers’ inability to forge a deficit-reduction bill.
The Treasury’s key 30-year bond, which fell 1/2 point on Tuesday, was off 3/16 point, or $1.88 per $1,000 in face amount at midday. Its yield, which rises when the price falls, advanced to 8.81% from 8.79% late Tuesday.
Also depressing the market today was a spike upward in oil prices over the $30-a-barrel level. The move comes after a steep, week-long decline in energy costs.
Analysts said there was no reaction to a Commerce Department report showing orders to U.S. factories for “big-ticket” durable goods plunged 1.7% in September, the third decline in the last four months.
In the secondary market for Treasury bonds, short-term maturities were unchanged to 1/32 point lower, intermediate maturities fell by between 1/32 point and 1/8 point and long-term issues fell 5/32 point, the Telerate Inc. financial information service reported.
