Dow up 12.03
in slow trading

NEW YORK - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the celebrated 8,000 mark today for the second day running, as stocks pushed meekly ahead in holiday trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 12.03 points to 8,027.53, its second finish above 8,000 since Aug. 20, Trading was within a narrow 50-point range as bonds extended their rise.

Advancers outnumbered decliners by nearly an 1-to-8 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,647 up, 1,187 down and 576 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 472.72 million shares vs. 597.88 million yesterday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list rose 8.13 to 958.42, moving within 2 points of record territory. The NYSE composite rose 2.35 to 503.43, beating yesterday's record.

The Nasdaq composite rose 12.07 to 1,702.37, and the Amex composite rose 1.69 to 704.96 for another closing record.

The Dow is up more than 24 percent in 1997, but still below its Aug. 6 peak of 8,259.31.

With with many traders abandoning Wall Street for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, volume was well below yesterday's.

Investors at first sold off following the release of a manufacturing report, then shrugged it off in anticipation of the Labor Department's employment report for September tomorrow.

August orders to U.S. factories posted their third straight gain, the Commerce Department said today. But aside from electronics, manufacturing orders moved less rapidly than the overall number indicated.