Updated at 1:40 p.m., Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Wall Street ends another erratic session mostly higher
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Wall Street ended another erratic session mostly higher Tuesday as investors, waiting for the Federal Reserve's next move to steady the markets, made few major commitments to stocks.Comments from policymakers and government officials tugged at a market looking for any evidence the Fed will cut rates to help contain the credit crisis that began with the failure of subprime loans.
The Fed has taken a number of steps to prop up the nation's financial institutions ahead of its scheduled Sept. 18 meeting, including injecting more liquidity into the banking industry and cutting the discount rate. But many on Wall Street want the Fed to do more, including lowering the more important federal funds rate, and to do it before next month's meeting.
According to preliminary calculations, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average fell 30.49, or 0.23 percent, to 13,090.86 after moving in and out of positive territory throughout the day.
Broader market indexes were slightly higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.57, or 0.11 percent, to 1,447.12, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.71, or 0.51 percent, to 2,521.30. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies added 0.93, or 0.12 percent, to 788.38.
Bonds continued to rally, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.59 percent from 4.63 percent late Monday. Bond prices move opposite yields.
