Dow up 36,
briefly tops 8,000

NEW YORK -- Stocks rose only modestly today after investors locked in some gains from an afternoon rally that put the Dow Jones industrial average back above 8,000 for the first time in nearly a month.

The Dow rose just 36.28 points to 7,922.72, down from a midday gain of nearly 135 points that put the blue-chip barometer above 8,000 for the first time since Aug. 21.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by a nearly 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,706 up, 1,174 down and 538 unchanged. NYSE volume was 566.84 million shares vs. 589.49 million yesterday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list rose just 4.32 to 947.32, down from a midday 15-point gain that briefly put the index within 2 points of its Aug. 6 record close at 960.32.

The NYSE composite index rose 2.20 to 495.41, down from an earlier 7-point gain which put that measure above the 500-mark for the first time.

Setting new highs were the Nasdaq composite index, up 3.55 to 1,670.02; the Russell 2000, up 0.35 to 446.50; and the Amex composite, up 3.80 to 686.80.

Stocks retreated from the day's highs as bonds surrendered most of an early rally that sent interest rates falling for the fifth consecutive session. Bonds rose in the morning after a report showing that America's trade deficit soared 24.7 percent to $10.3 billion in July.

But the price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was unchanged by late afternoon, with its yield at 6.40 percent. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.