U.S. stocks buoyed by data; Dow slips August doldrums

U.S. stocks buoyed by data; Dow slips
August doldrums check Wall Street on below-average volume
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Most U.S. stocks advanced slightly Wednesday on light volume as investors sifted through mixed economic reports, but blue-chips lagged behind and finished lower on the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) traded between slight gains and losses within a narrow 55-point range and closed down 7.36 points, or less than 0.1%, at 13,164.78.
Shares of Merck & Co. (NYSE:M) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) led the blue-chip barometer lower, both falling about 0.8%. Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) , which fell in sympathy with agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co. (NYSE E) , closed down 0.3%.
Early Wednesday, Deere turned in a third-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street estimates, and cut its profit forecast for the fiscal year. Shares closed down 6.3%. Read more on Deere earnings.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) closed up 1.1% ahead of its release of fourth-quarter results after the bell. Shares added another 5% after hours after the company topped Wall Street estimates. Read more on Cisco earnings.
Cisco also hiked its dividend by 75%. Read more on Cisco dividend hike.
The S&P 500 index (SNC:SPX) started out lower and then reversed to close up 1.6 points, or 0.1%, at 1,405.53. The financial and consumer discretionary sectors led gains among the index’s 10 industry groups, and both closed up about 0.4%.
The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:COMP) rose 13.95 points, or 0.5%, to close at 3,030.93. Heavyweights Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed higher, while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) finished lower.
“Today’s market represents the state of the economy pretty well: sluggish,” said Frank Fantozzi, president and senior adviser at Planned Financial Services.
And Fantozzi doesn’t foresee many investors coming off the sidelines any time soon. With a recent Gallup poll showing the congressional approval rating at an all-time low of 10%, investors and companies are frustrated with the gridlock in Washington and are likely to hold tight to their cash until there is some sort of resolution with the November elections, he said.
Ahead of the opening bell, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its manufacturing index dropped to negative 5.9 in August, the first instance of contraction in this gauge since October.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-sh...2012-08-15