Market Surges Ahead as Dow Index Gains 18.92 to Record High
The stock market surged upward again today, extending its late-1985 rally in active trading.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials climbed 18.92 to 1,475.69, topping the previous closing high of 1,464.33 it reached last Thursday.
Advances outpaced declines by nearly two to one on the New York Stock Exchange.
Big Board volume totaled 143.65 million shares, against 123.05 million in the previous session.
The NYSE’s composite index gained 0.94 to 116.68.
At the American Stock Exchange, the market-value index was up 1.11 at 241.36.
Nothing Special In News
Analysts said there was nothing special in the news to account for the renewed strength of the market.
They said it appeared to benefit from buying by traders who have been frustrated in their hopes for a pullback in stock prices to give them an opportunity to get in on the rally.
Another evident plus was a prominent story in the Wall Street Journal that discussed the bullish long-term forecasts of some analysts and money managers.
The market will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, and a good many investors are expected to be absent for Friday’s session as well. But light activity notwithstanding, brokers noted that stock prices have often risen in the past on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Bond prices were mixed in early trading in a generally quiet session on the eve of Thanksgiving. Interest rates were little changed by midday in New York.
Concerns about the government’s financing needs continued to weigh on the market.
The Treasury is selling $7.5 billion in 5-year notes today as the last auction in a seven-part series of sales totaling $61 billion in securities.
Yields on the Treasury’s new benchmark 30-year bond, maturing in 2015, stood at 9.95% in the early going, down from 9.96% late Tuesday.
Industrial Bonds Gain
In the secondary market for Treasury securities, prices of short-term governments rose from 1/32 point to 2/32 point, intermediate maturities were unchanged and prices of long-term government bonds were unchanged to up 2/32 point, according to the investment firm of Salomon Bros.
In corporate trading, Salomon Bros. said industrials and utilities rose 1/8 point in light activity.
Among tax-exempt municipal bonds, the investment firm said revenue bonds fell 1/8 point in moderate dealings and general obligations fell 1/2 point in quiet trading.
Yields on three-month Treasury bills were unchanged at 7.21%. Six-month bills declined one basis point to 7.28%.
The federal funds rate traded at 7.675%.
