Dow Rises 5.20; Pace Slowest Since Late ’84
The stock market eked out a small gain Monday, showing no clear-cut response to the news of disappointing results at the Iceland summit meeting.
Trading set the slowest pace in nearly two years, with many participants absent because of the observance of Columbus Day and Yom Kippur.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, down slightly for most of the day, finished with a 5.20-point gain at 1,798.37.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange came to 54.99 million shares, down from 105.05 million Friday and the lightest total since a 46.70-million-share day on Dec. 26, 1984.
Analysts said the inability of President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to reach agreement on new arms limitations over the weekend apparently did not prompt any major changes in investors’ plans.
Wall Street traders may have had other concerns on their minds as well, analysts said, including an uncertain oil-price outlook, forthcoming sales of bonds and notes by the Treasury and corporate earnings reports for the third quarter.
International Business Machines reported Monday morning that it earned $1.76 a share in the third quarter, down from $2.40 in the comparable period last year.
IBM Slumped Further
Brokers noted that investors had ample warning that the company’s figures would be weak. Nevertheless, after rallying briefly, IBM shares continued their recent slump, dropping 1 5/8 to 122 in active trading.
United Technologies fell 1 3/8 to 40 1/2 on lower third-quarter earnings from continuing operations.
NCR lost 1 1/8 to 44 after the company posted a quarterly profit increase that came up short of some investors’ expectations.
BankAmerica dropped 3/8 to 14 1/2. Over the weekend, the company named A. W. (Tom) Clausen to return as its chief executive, after Samuel H. Armacost resigned.
On the plus side, CPC International climbed 2 5/8 to 69 7/8. The company posted third-quarter earnings of $1.21 a share, up from operating profits of $1.03 in the like period a year earlier.
In addition, the stock apparently was buoyed by speculation about a possible takeover or restructuring. CPC said it wouldn’t comment on rumors as a matter of policy, and knew of no specific reason for the activity in its shares.
Gainers Edge Losers
In the overall tally on the Big Board, advancing issues outnumbered declines, 740 to 635, with 489 unchanged. The exchange’s composite index of all its listed common stocks added 0.19 to 135.89.
Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 66.41 million shares.
There were 948 blocks of 10,000 or more shares traded Monday on the NYSE, compared to 2,116 on Friday.
Standard & Poor’s index of 400 industrials rose 0.55 to 261.19, and S&P;’s 500-stock composite index was up 0.43 at 235.91.
The NASDAQ composite index for the over-the-counter market crept ahead 0.52 to 354.05. At the American Stock Exchange, the market-value index closed at 265.18, up 0.53.
The Wilshire index of 5,000 equities closed at 2,400.187, up 4.120.
Bond prices were unchanged in thin holiday trading Monday.
The U.S. Treasury market was closed. Activity centered on corporate and municipal bonds, which were unchanged from Friday’s prices, according to the investment firm of Salomon Bros.
