Dow Slips 1.10 In Sluggish Summer Session

Stocks drifted Thursday, with most major indexes posting marginal gains despite a weak bond market, where interest rates rose on economic data that was slightly stronger than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 1.10 to 5,665.78 after meandering through the session, never moving more than 17 points in either direction.

Broader measures turned positive, but the gains were modest as trading continued at a mostly sleepy, uneventful pace more typical of summer than July’s volatile swings.

“It’s essentially been a big yawn,” said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at Fahnestock & Co. “We’re in a vacation vacuum. Most brokers are sitting on their hands waiting for August to end, waiting for more players to return to the game.”

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by nearly a 5-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 322.85 million shares as of 4 p.m., the sixth straight tally under 350 million and the ninth straight under 400 million.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday:

NYSE

Hewlett-Packard, down 3-1/2 at 40.

After the close of trading, the computer maker reported a 26 percent drop in its third-quarter profit and warned that some problems affecting profitability could continue.

Orchard Supply Hardware Stores, up 5 at 34-5/8.

The California home improvement chain agreed to be acquired by Sears, Roebuck for $35 per share, or about $415 million.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, up 5 at 74.

The Canadian mining company is in talks to buy a 51 percent interest in Germany’s Kali und Salz AG from BASF. Kali und Salz owns interests in potash mines in Germany and New Brunswick, Canada.

NASDAQ

Medaphis, down 21-3/8 at 14-1/4.

The provider of business-management services to doctors and hospitals expects a loss for the quarter ending Sept. 30.

AMEX

Bema Gold, up 3-5/16 at 8-5/8.

Further drilling confirmed the discovery of another gold and copper deposit at the Cerro Casale mine in northern Chile. Bema Gold and Arizona Star Resource own the Cerro Casale deposit. Bema is the largest shareholder of Arizona Star.

Magellan Health Services, up 1-1/4 at 16-3/4.

The Atlanta-based behavioral health care company began a Dutch auction offer to buy back up to 1.9 million of its common shares. In a Dutch auction, a company permits holders to tender their shares at a price of their own choosing, within a range set by the company.