NEW YORK: The stock market closed slightly lower Thursday as the longest rally since July ended.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 25.96 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 15,300.64. The Dow had gained 404 points over the previous three days and is still up 3.3 percent this month.
The last three days of gains have helped the Dow recover the bulk of its losses in August, the worst month for the blue-chip index since May 2012.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,683.42 after rising the previous seven days. That was the longest winning streak since a string of eight gains between July 3 and July 15.
The Nasdaq composite fell 9.04 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,715.97. That followed a sharp decline Wednesday caused by a sell-off in Apple’s stock.
Crude oil rose $1.04 to $108.60 a barrel. Gold fell $32.20 to $1,330.60 an ounce.