Slow Week For Stocks Ends With Losses

Despite various new highs, stocks traded in a very tight range over the course of the week.

Not surprisingly, August is the most popular time for vacations, not exclusive of stock brokers, traders, managers and all those who participate in making the markets.

Friday's trading was particularly sluggish, with all the major averages finishing in the red, albeit, slightly.

The weekly figures were hardly encouraging to either bears or bulls, with the main indices offering losses or gains of fractions of one percentage point, the S&P the least affected, down 0.18 points.

Leading into the final full week of August trading, with monthly options already having expired (Friday), another week of widespread complacency is expected.

Figures for Friday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,552.57, -45.13 (-0.24%)

NASDAQ
5,238.38, -1.77 (-0.03%)

S&P 500
2,183.87, -3.15 (-0.14%)

NYSE Composite
10,829.15, -33.86 (-0.31%)

For the Week:
Dow: -23.90 (-0.13%)
S&P 500: -0.18 (-0.01%)
NASDAQ: +5.48 (0.10%)
NYSE Composite: +6.74 (0.06%)