Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
NEW YORK -- Shares of brokerage companies surged today following news that Credit Suisse Group had agreed to buy Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, but the overall market was mixed in lackluster trading. Dow sinks 112
Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 112.09, or 1 percent, at 11,103.01. Broader indicators were mixed. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.64 at 4,108.53, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 7.25 at 1,502.59.
Decliners led advancers by a narrow margin, with 1,413 down, 1,405 up and 518 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 817.33 million shares, up from 787.62 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index slipped 2.98 at 670.46; the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 0.74 to 934.22; and the Russell 2000 index was up 2.70 at 532.33.
"We're in a market where a lot of people are already leaving for the long weekend," said Al Goldman, chief investment strategist at A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis. "Business is thin and nobody wants to take a big stance. There's just a lot of boredom on the floor."
Trading volume has been at its lowest level of the year for more than a week now, with many traders taking vacations ahead of the long Labor Day weekend.
The 30-year Treasury bond's price rose 7/32 point, or $2.19 per $1,000 face amount, its yield fell to 5.73 percent from 5.75 percent late yesterday. Brokerages and financial services stocks gained after Credit Suisse Group said it was buying DLJ. Shares in other financial companies rose on anticipation of further consolidation in the brokerage industry, including J.P. Morgan, up $2.06 at $151.06.
IBM, off $2.88 at $130, was leading some computer shares lower in profit-taking.
And retail stocks continued to get hammered on fears of reduced consumer spending in the second half of the year. Wal-Mart Stores fell $1.75 at $48.19.