Most Stocks Post Gains but Dow Gives Up 0.11
The stock market posted widespread gains Wednesday, although the blue-chip issues represented by the Dow Jones industrial average lagged behind for the second straight session.
The Dow index of 30 big-name industrials slipped 0.11 to 1,230.68.
But most other, broader market measures chalked up gains. Advances outpaced declines by more than two to one on the New York Stock Exchange.
The pattern closely resembled the one set in Tuesday’s trading, when the Dow dropped 3.75 points but gainers outstripped losers overall.
Brokers say these divergent figures suggest increased enthusiasm lately for smaller “secondary” issues that pull little or no weight in the popular measures of market fluctuations.
That contrasts with what happened last year, when many individual issues fared less well than the indicators.
A survey of economists by the University of Michigan found a majority expecting a recession to set in by the end of the year. However, stock market investors apparently don’t agree with that assessment.
Confidence Grows
Analysts say confidence seems to have grown among market participants lately that growth will continue for some time to come.
That feeling was buttressed by the Federal Reserve’s report Tuesday that industrial production rose 0.6% in December.
It has also gained support from the recent decline of interest rates and comments by Paul A. Volcker, the Fed’s chairman, suggesting his willingness to pursue a relatively stimulative credit policy.
American Telephone & Telegraph led the active list, rising 1/8 to 20 5/8 in trading that included several large blocks.
International Business Machines was also active, falling 3/4 to 123 7/8. The company is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings today. Advance estimates on Wall Street generally fall in the range of $3.40 to $3.50 a share, against $3.06 in the last quarter of 1983.
General Electric slipped to 59. The company said its fourth-quarter earnings came in at $1.44 a share, against $1.27 in the comparable period a year earlier.
UniDynamics climbed 1 3/4 to 28 1/2. Crane Co. plans to acquire UniDynamics for $29 a share in a transaction approved by both companies’ boards of directors.
Chase Manhattan gained 1 3/8 to 50 5/8. The company raised its quarterly dividend from 91.25 cents to 95 cents a share.
AMR, which reported sharply lower quarterly earnings, slipped 3/4 to 37 1/8.
Volume on the Big Board came to 135.52 million shares, against 155.26 million Tuesday.
Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 158.61 million shares.
Bonds Generally Down
Large blocks of 10,000 or more shares traded on the NYSE totaled 2,784, compared to 3,214 on Tuesday.
Most bond prices slipped. In the secondary market for Treasury bonds, prices of short-term governments were unchanged to down 1/32 point, intermediate maturities fell between 2/32 point and point and long-term issues were down point, according to the investment firm of Salomon Bros. Inc.
In corporate trading, industrials and utilities fell point.
Among tax-exempt municipal bonds, general obligations were unchanged, while revenue bonds rose point.
Yields on three-month Treasury bills edged up 1 basis point to 7.73%. Six-month bills fell 2 basis points to 7.95% and one-year bills were unchanged at 8.31%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds rose to 11.61% from 11.57% late Tuesday.
The federal funds rate, the interest on overnight loans between banks, traded at 8.375%, up from 8.125% late Tuesday.
