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Dow And S&P 500 Close Moderately Higher, Nasdaq Posts Slim Loss
[August 20, 2014]

Dow And S&P 500 Close Moderately Higher, Nasdaq Posts Slim Loss


(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Wednesday before ending the session mostly higher. The Dow and the S&P 500 both finished the day in positive territory, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a modest loss.



While most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, considerable strength was visible among telecom stocks. Reflecting the strength in the telecom sector, the NYSE Arca Telecom Index advanced by 1.2%.

Sprint (S) helped to lead the telecom sector higher, with the wireless provider climbing by 2% after ending the previous session at a nearly two-year closing low.


Airline stocks also saw notable strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1%. Strong gains by United Continental (UAL) and JetBlue (JBLU) helped lift the index to its best closing level in two months.

Railroad, defense, and semiconductor stocks also moved to the upside over the course of the session, while computer hardware and tobacco stocks saw some weakness.

The Dow rose 59.54 points or 0.4% to 16,979.13, while the S&P 500 moved within striking distance of a new record high by climbing 4.91 points or 0.3% to 1,986.51.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq edged down 1.03 points or less than a tenth of a % to 4,526.48 after ending the previous session at a new fourteen-year closing high.

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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