Midday Market Check - The Dow Jones Industrial Average Gains 35 Points

We head into the second half of the session with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) sitting on a minor gain. As you might expect ahead of a holiday, the action is somewhat sluggish. The Dow has traded in a low-to-high range of only 60 points and the current gain of 35 points does little more than erase the 17 points yesterday. The S&P 500 (SPX), Nasdaq Composite (COMP), and Russell 2000 (RUT) are also showing very minor advances.

Today's strongest groups are the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI), Natural Gas Index (XNG), and Cyclical Index (CYC). The iShares Treasury Bond (TLT), Regional Bank HOLDRS (RKH), and Broker/Dealer Index (XBD) are the weakest areas.

Overall, most groups are higher but the gains are relatively minor and the participation is light. There are a few stocks on the move but I don't expect any significant moves from the broad market until next week.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

Click here for symbol descriptions

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