NEW YORK -- Stocks were mixed today, with smaller-company shares outperforming the blue-chip sector in an unusually calm session after the turbulent swings of the past two weeks. Dow falls 28.34
The Dow Jones industrial average was up as much as 56 points during the session, but ended trading at 7,859.57, down 28.34 points.
Advancers beat decliners by nearly a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,607 up, 1,235 down and 555 unchanged. NYSE volume was 388.96 million shares, down from 457.59 million shares Friday and the first full session with a tally below 400 million since May.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 3.38 to 920.16, and the NYSE index fell 0.90 to 478.03.
But the Nasdaq composite rose 2.84 to 1,601.53, and the American Stock Exchange composite rose 3.02 to 646.85. Both measures have a large constituency of smaller-company stocks. Likewise, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.36 to 418.09.
Bond prices on the 30-year Treasury fell 8/32 of a point while the yield rose to 6.67 percent from 6.65 percent Friday.
With no major reports to provide any catalysts, the most noticeable aspect of the session was the relaxed tone. The markets were particularly volatile over the last two weeks amid fears of weakening company profits and signs of inflationary pressure that could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the fall.
Stocks and bonds were buoyed today by a recovering dollar on foreign-exchange markets. A strong dollar makes the payoff on Treasury bonds and other U.S. investments more valuable in other currencies.