All three indexes advanced modestly but the bigger stories concerned Apple, J.C. Penney and the suit field by the Justice Department to block the $11 billion merger of U. S. Airways and American Airlines. CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged up +31.33 points, +0.20 percent, to close at 15,451.01 The Nasdaq edged up +0.39 percent, +14.49 points to end the day at 3,684.44, while the S&P moved up +0.28 percent, +4.69 points, to close at 1,694.16. The Yahoo! Finance Manufactured Housing Composite fell -0.46 percent to close at 960.7. Housing stocks we follow closed mixed or even, while Patrick Industries regained some of the ground it lost yesterday, moving up +2.15 percent, +0.48 points, to end the day at 22.85. Skyline Corp. dropped the most of stocks we follow, falling -3.97 percent, -0.20, to end the day at 4.84. Affiliated Managers Group 180.88 +2.80 (+1.57%). Cavco Industries 52.67 -1.43 (-2.64%). Clayton Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, as well as MH home-building, lending and other housing suppliers parent company Berkshire Hathaway 175,725 -23.00 (-0.01%). Drew Industries, Inc. 43.93 +0.06 (+0.14%). Equity LifeStyle Properties 36.29 -0.87 (-2.34%). Liberty Homes remained steady at 0.60, Louisiana Pacific Industries 16.65 -0.34 (-1.97%). Nobility Homes continued at 8.50. Palm Harbor Homes remained unchanged. Sun Communities, Inc. 46.06 -0.94 (-2.00%). Third Avenue Value Fund (Aug. 12) remained unchanged at 56.51. UMH Properties, Inc. 10.32 -0.28 (-2.64%). Universal Forest Products, Inc. 40.12 -0.48 (-1.18%).

(Graphic credit: CNNMoney and RealTick)