Dow Gains 7.46 as Market Rebounds in Final Hour

After posting slight overall losses for most of the day, the stock market turned around in the last hour and registered a solid gain Monday.

At the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones average of 30 industrial stocks stood at 1550.46, up 7.46 over Friday’s close.

Analysts attributed the late upswing to buying by professional traders engaged in multiple transactions involving stocks and futures contracts based on stock market indexes.

They said prices of the futures contracts reached levels where traders found it attractive to buy the stocks and sell the futures.

Eldon A. Grimm of Birr, Wilson & Co., a securities firm, said there were “a lot of mixed trends around--and a few more down than up” during the earlier part of the day.

Trading was especially influenced by the fact that Monday and Tuesday were the last two business days of 1985.

Those selling to register tax losses were doing so because these transactions are effective immediately while those seeking profits were able to defer the tax accountability to 1986 because the transactions are effective five days later, he explained.

Among the most active stocks, IBM was up 2 3/4 for a new high at 158; Union Carbide was down 1 1/8 at 70 1/2; Paradyne was down 7/8 at 6 5/8; U.S. Steel was up 7/8 to 26, and Mesa Petroleum was unchanged at 15 3/8.

Auto makers were generally higher, with Chrysler up 5/8 at 46 1/8, Ford up 1/2 to 57 3/4 and General Motors up 5/8 at 72 1/2.

Among retailers, J. C. Penney was up 3/8 to 55 1/2, Sears, Roebuck was up 1/8 to 38 3/4 and Woolworth was up 3/8 to 59 3/8.

Eli Lilly was up 2 at 111, also for a new peak. Other drug companies included Upjohn, which was down 2 to 111, and Warner Lambert, which was down 1/8 to 47 3/4.

Large blocks of 10,000 or more shares traded on the NYSE totaled 1,567, compared to 1,547 on Friday.

Bond prices posted few changes and interest rates generally hovered near recent levels in quiet trading.