NEW YORK -- After a volatile day which saw a 130-point swing in the Dow industrials, stocks finished slightly higher thanks to a last-minute burst of buying. Dow gains 13.7
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up nearly 70 points in early trading, sank 60 points at midday, before bouncing back in the day's final minutes. By day's end, the Dow had risen 13.71 to close at 7,942.03.
"Today's outcome changed in the final three minutes," said Larry Wachtel, a market analyst at Prudential Securities.
Decliners led advancers by 1,555 to 1,271 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 569 unchanged. NYSE volume was 530.47 million shares vs. 587.23 million yesterday.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list rose 2.75 to 924.77, and the NYSE index climbed 1.24 to 477.66. The Nasdaq index rose 3.25 to 1,586.65, and the American Stock Exchange composite fell 0.67 to 640.39.
Stocks started higher, following a jump in the bond market after the government said consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in July, in line with market expectations. The consumer price index has gained just 1.5 percent this year, or less than half last year's inflation pace.
That data helped calm recent fears that the economy is accelerating too fast and inflationary pressures might result. Traders worry that any strength in the economy will cause the Federal Reserve to push up interest rates next week to cool off inflationary pressures.
Prices in the inflation-sensitive bond market rose today, while yields on 30-year Treasury bonds, which move in the opposite direction of prices, fell to 6.55 percent from 6.62 percent late yesterday.