Dow Soars Record 44.01 : Average Closes at New High of 1,971.32

Stock prices zoomed to record levels today as the New Year advance that began with a bang on Friday moved into a second day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up a record 44.01 points at 1,971.32, toppling the record close of 1,955.57 recorded on Dec. 2 of last year.

The 44.01 rise eclipsed the previous record one-day gain of 43.41, set Nov. 3, 1982.

Advances led declines 7-to-1 on a New York Stock Exchange volume of about 181.85 million shares compared with 91.88 million shares traded Friday.

Analysts said today’s rise and Friday’s 31.36-point gain reflected an end to last year’s tax-selling pressures.

“You had a lot of people selling for profits and then you had a lot of selling for losses and tax deductions in 1986,” explained Eldon Grimm, a stock analyst with Birr Wilson & Co. “Now you get an automatic rebound.

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