Stocks finished August on a positive note, despite taking a dip into the red on Wednesday amid thin trading volume.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on 53 points, or 0.5%, to close at 11,613. Earlier in the session, the blue-chip index ran as high as 11,712, a gain of more than 150 points, and despite losing 4.4% overall in a volatile August, it did manage to return to positive territory for 2011, rising in seven of the last eight sessions to advance nearly 900 points from its close at 10,817 on Aug. 19.
The S&P 500 rose 6 points, or 0.48%, settle at 1219, while the Nasdaq edged up 3 points, or 0.13%, to 2579.
"The market is just searching for something," said Stephen J. Carl, head equity trader at Williams Capital Group. Tepid economic numbers as well as light volume have not helped the rally, he explained. Some 4.6 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange and under 2 billion traded on the Nasdaq.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI: ^DJI )
| Index Value: | 11,613.53 |
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| Trade Time: | 4:04PM EDT |
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| Change: |  53.58 (0.46%) |
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| Prev Close: | 11,559.95 |
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| Open: | 11,560.48 |
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| Day's Range: | 11,528.08 -11,712.60 |
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| 52wk Range: | 10,016.00 -12,928.50 |
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