Dow snaps eight-day streak of closing losses

Associated Press

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 | 1:46 p.m.

Stocks finished higher today after a volatile day on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished with its first gain after eight straight days of losses.

Many investors expect to see more big swings in the stock market as worries about the economy increase. The Institute of Supply Management said the U.S. service sector isn't growing as quickly as Wall Street predicted.

The Dow closed with a gain of 30, or 0.3 percent, to 11,896. The S&P 500 is up 6, or 0.5 percent, to 1,260. The Nasdaq composite is up 24, or 0.9 percent, to 2,693.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was higher than usual at 5.7 billion shares.