off in oil helped push the blue-chip Dow to its highest close in more than a month, while the S&P and Nasdaq were back to levels seen at the beginning of August. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 83.11 points, or 0.82 percent, at 10,181.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.77 points, or 0.80 percent, at 1,104.96. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index rose 23.83 points, or 1.30 percent, at 1,860.72. Trading was light, with 1.19 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, below the 1.4 billion daily average for last year. About 1.3 billion shares were traded on Nasdaq, below the 1.69 billion daily average last year. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE and Nasdaq by about 2-to-1. Traders said volume was low as a number of people were either away on vacation or out of New York city to avoid next week's Republican convention. "It's the end of the summer, a lot of people are on edge, a lot of people are out of the New York area, taking off if they can due to the convention which starts on Monday and it is really quiet. The market is easily moved one way or another," said Mike Driscoll, Bear Stearns listed trader and managing director. --MORE 2357 Local Time 2057 GMT
