Well, there's always July...

The close: Well, there's always JulyRTGAMFor a while there, it looked as though the U.S. stock market would put in a respectable finale to the second quarter of 2008, turning in a decent gain as crude oil prices came off the boil and gold calmed down.

No such luck.The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,350.01, up just 3.5 points or flat on a percentage basis - after it gave up about 50 points in the final half-hour of trading.

The broader S&P 500 followed a similar trajectory, closing at 1280.01, up 1.63 points or 0.1 per cent, after being up 9 points in the late afternoon.Financials were particularly weak as the seconds ran out on the quarter. You could blame this on institutional investors jettisoning their losers before they must submit quarterly reports on their holdings.

Or, if you're less inclined to blame the smart money, you could simply point to deteriorating hope for the U.S. economy and the housing market in particular.American International Group Inc. fell 4.7 per cent, Bank of America Corp. fell 2.9 per cent and Citigroup Inc. fell 2.8 per cent, with the losses accelerating toward the end of the day. Exxon Mobil Corp.,

meanwhile, rose 1.8 per cent after oil held at $140 (U.S.) a barrel.In Canada, the final day of the second quarter proved to be a snapshot of everything that is right and wrong with the stock market. Yes, the S&P/TSX composite index ended the day significantly higher, closing at 14,467.44, up 112.23, or 0.8 per cent. But once again, the winners were confined to the usual two sectors - energy and materials - while most of the rest of the market languished. Financials, in particular, fell 0.9 per cent.Among individual names, EnCana Corp. rose 3.9 per cent, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. rose 2.7 per cent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 0.4 per cent. On the downside,

Research In Motion Ltd. continued its decline to seven straight days, a trend that has existed since the BlackBerry maker disappointed the market with its quarterly results. Its shares fell 1.9 per cent. BCE Inc. closed at $35.55, down $1.21, or 3.3 per cent, on renewed speculation that its takeover deal could be delayed and possibly re-priced.

And Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell 3.7 per cent to a new 52-week low on concerns about more writedowns ahead. Welcome to the third quarter.Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail