SPX, COMP Back in the Black for 2011 after late-day buying spree U.S. stocks spent time on both sides of the breakeven line today, as Wall Street absorbed a double dose of diverging economic data. Most notably, the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) kept the major market indexes in the red most of the day, after the data showed an unexpected slowdown in service-sector growth last month. However, payroll processor ADP may have been the bulls' saving grace, reporting a bigger-than-anticipated uptick in private-sector jobs in July. With the recent barrage of bleak data still in the forefront of investors' minds, the ADP figures offered a slim ray of hope ahead of Friday's highly anticipated nonfarm payrolls report, and helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) avoid its worst losing streak since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 11,896.44) fell as low as the 11,700 level in early trading, but eventually clawed its way to a gain of 29.8 points, or 0.3%. All but nine of the Dow's 30 blue chips edged higher, with Coca-Cola (KO) blazing the trail with a 2% lead. Meanwhile, Caterpillar (CAT) paced the bearish minority, giving up 0.9% by the close.In similar fashion, the S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,260.34) tagged an intraday nadir of 1,234.56 before bouncing back, settling with a gain of 6.3 points, or 0.5%. As a result, the broad-market barometer is now up 0.2% for the calendar year, after falling to a year-to-date loss in Tuesday's session. Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,693.07) fared the best of the three, advancing 23.8 points, or 0.9%. At its session low, the tech-rich COMP was in danger of erasing its own year-to-date surplus, which now sits at 1.5%.
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