Dow, Nasdaq Gains Belie Bad Market Breadth

The Big 3 market indexes rose Wednesday, led by the tech-friendly Nasdaq Composite , but market internal data told a very different story, with most individual stocks trading lower. The number of advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by a 1,836-to-1,069 score on the NYSE and by a 1,536-to-1,166 margin on the Nasdaq. And while 62% of Nasdaq volume was in advancing stocks, only about 36% of NYSE volume was in gainers. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up about 5 points in afternoon trade, but only 12 of 30 components gained ground. The S&P 500 tacked on 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.6%.