Dow climbs 57 to break 7-day slide

The Dow Jones industrial average broke a seven-day slide Tuesday after traders sifted through the market for beaten-down stocks.

The Dow rose 57.14 points, or 0.59 percent, after dropping 7.3 percent in just the past two weeks and reaching its lowest level since October. It closed at 9,743.62.

Traders were looking to pick up stocks while they're still cheap, but the buying was selective and there were more losing stocks than gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.

"There are pockets of opportunity out there. There are some areas with good valuations," said Aaron Reynolds, senior portfolio analyst at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.

The unevenness to the day's moves signaled that traders remain on edge about the economy. The day's economic news didn't offer investors much incentive to buy. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said growth in service businesses slowed last month. Its services index fell to 53.8 from 55.4 in May.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast a reading 55.0. Anything above 50 indicates growth.

The market's advance came after stocks dropped Friday on a report that employers didn't ramp up hiring as much as economists had forecast.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index Tuesday rose 5.48, or 0.54 percent, to 1,028.06, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.09, or 0.1 percent, to 2,093.88.

- AP