Highlights
August 17, 2011
The stock market marked time in a quiet session with the Dow ending fractionally higher at 11,409. Company news included strong earnings from discount chain Target but a weak outlook from Dell which pulled down technology stocks. Accounts seeking safety bid down Treasury rates once again with the 30-year yield down a sharp nine basis points on the day to 3.57 percent. The decline in rates pulled down the dollar which slipped nearly 1/2 percent. An early rally for oil was cut short by a large weekly build in oil inventories. Oil ended slightly higher at $87.50 while gold was steady at $1,790.