New York – U.S. stock prices closed higher Friday, as the Dow Jones industrial average posted its first gain for the month of September in seven years and all three major averages realized gains for the third quarter.
The Dow industrials closed up 15.92 points at 10568.70, up 0.8 percent for the month and up 2.9 percent from the second quarter. It was the blue-chip index’s first quarterly gain of the year.
The S&P 500 Index, a gauge of the broader market, closed up 1.13 points at 1228.81, giving it a 0.7 percent gain for the month of September for a second year in a row.
The index logged a 3.1 percent gain for the third quarter, marking a second quarter of rises.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 10.47 points at 2151.69, making for a small 0.1 percent loss for the month but a 4.6 percent gain for the quarter.
There were more than 1.54 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, with rising stocks outnumbering decliners by 20 to 12.
On the Nasdaq, more than 1.65 billion shares were traded; advancing shares led falling stocks by 17 to 12.
The market was volatile but in tight ranges throughout most of the day.
Jim Awad, chairman of Awad Asset Management, said money managers maneuvered to push stock prices to a higher close Friday so that the indices could close the quarter with gains.
“The truth is that the market is controlled by money managers who get paid based on profit and asset values,” said Awad.
“They have a vested interest in closing the quarter higher, and today they used cheaper energy prices as an excuse,” he said.
The market will kick off the fourth quarter next week by focusing on economic reports and on earnings announcements and warnings, he said.
Market sentiment Friday was wary after news from the Commerce Department that personal income in August fell 0.1 percent, the largest drop since January.
Excluding the impact of Hurricane Katrina, income would have risen 0.2 percent.
Consumer spending fell 0.5 percent, the biggest drop since November 2001. Economists were expecting incomes to rise 0.3 percent and consumer spending to fall 0.2 percent, according to a MarketWatch survey.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment showed a drop to 76.9 in September from 89.1 in August.
The news seemed to confirm many investors’ fears that the devastation brought on by recent hurricanes, as well as the record-high energy prices that followed, have hit the consumer and will slow the economy.
