Stocks Post Small Gains After Three-Week Slump
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Monday, July 6, 2009; 5:17 PM
Stock markets eked out a gain today following a three-week slump.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.13 points, or 0.5 percent, to 8324.87, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 2.3, or 0.2 percent, to 898.72. But tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq down 9.12 points, 0 0.5 percent, to 1,787.40. The major indexes have fallen for the past three weeks, the longest streak of declines since the markets bottomed out in March.
A report released this morning by the Institute for Supply Management showed that the non-manufacturing sector contracted for the ninth consecutive month in June, albeit at a slower rate. The trade group's index of activity in service industries was at 47 in June, 3 points higher than in May. Any reading above 50 indicates growth; any reading below 50 indicates contraction. Six sectors reported growth, while 11 contracted in June, according to the organization.
The report was the latest indication that the nation's economic recovery remains ephemeral, even if the worst may be over. Last week, investors balked at weaker-than-expected labor reports showing the number of jobs on employers' payrolls fell by 467,000 in June while the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, sending stock markets into a tailspin.
Oil prices have risen sharply in recent months, though they moderated before the holiday weekend. Light, sweet crude for August delivery slipped to a five-week low today, settling at $64.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $2.39, or about 4 percent.
Stocks were also down overseas. London's FTSE 100 dropped 1 percent, or 41 points, to 4195. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.4 percent, or 135 points, to 9681, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 1.2 percent, or 224 points, to 17,979.
