The three major U.S. stocks.........>

US STOCKS CLOSE: The three major U.S. stocks managed to post modest gains, while

the Russell 2000, which often leads turns in U.S. stocks, also made a mild

late-day recovery. The S&P 500 closed up 0.13% at 2,441.32 Friday. At the close,

the index was up 9.0% year-to date and down 2.0% from the life-time intraday

high of 2,490.87, seen August 8. The S&P 500 again closed below its 55-day

moving average near 2,445. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a record

intraday high of 22,179.11 on August 8 and the the Nasdaq Composite posted a

life-time high of 6,460.841 July 27. The Russell 2000 closed up 0.12% at

1,374.23 after trading in a 1,368.33 to 1,376.37 range. The index posted highs

near 1,452 on July 21, July 25 and July 26 and struggled subsequently despite a

run-up in the DJIA. Last week, the Russell 2000 broke below a larger support

zone of old lows in the 1,395-1,400 from mid June to early July and earlier

flirted with its 200-day moving average, around 1,371. Other than a brief dip in

the market of Brexit last year, the Russell 2000 index has held above the

200-day moving average since late May 2016. The next downside target is the May

31 low of 1,354.855.