Dow up 54.45
Associated PressNEW YORK - Stocks bounced to a mixed finish today as strong corporate earnings and soaring bond yields prevented the market from charting any clear course.
At the close of a volatile session on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 54.45 at 10,286.61. The Dow was lower for much of the morning, but also rose as much as 110 points above yesterday's close before giving up ground.
Broader stock indicators ended mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.13 to 1,283.42, while the Nasdaq composite index managed a slight gain of 5.57 at 2,806.84.
Decliners beat advancers by an 8-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,839 down, 1,140 up and 538 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 878.25 million shares vs. 817.45 million yesterday.
The NYSE composite slipped .76 to 591.33; the American Stock Exchange composite fell 3.46 to 785.95; the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 0.01 to 419.31.
The 30-year bond, which has gained on just two days in the past three weeks, dropped 19/32 or $5.94 per 1,000 face amount. Its yield rose 4 basis points to 6.32 percent, the highest level in two years. Yields on two-year notes rose 6 basis points to 5.89 percent, also a two-year high.
Stocks initially fell today after the Commerce Department issued what appeared to be a report of moderate September retail sales. Total retail sales rose to a seasonally adjusted $253.4 billion, a gain of just 0.1 percent.
But excluding the volatile automobile category, retail sales rose a brisk 0.6 percent in September. Many analysts were expecting a 0.5 percent gain.