Dow Jumps 30.26 to Record High for 5th Straight Day; Institutional Buying Cited
The stock market surged ahead again Monday, setting record highs for the fifth straight session in an advance concentrated in blue chip issues.
Analysts said the dominant force behind the market’s rise was buying by institutional investors scrambling to get ready for first-quarter reports to their customers.
The Dow Jones index of 30 industrials jumped 30.26 to 2,363.78, bringing its gain during the past five trading days to 115.33.
New York Stock Exchange volume totaled 189.07 million shares, down from Friday’s 234.01 million.
The market’s sharp rise on Friday was attributed in part to buyers engaged in program trading strategies at the “triple-witching hour,” which marked the last trading in a set of expiring options and futures on stock indexes.
Thus, some of the gains in stock prices just before the weekend were viewed as artificially induced, and many analysts expected a pullback Monday.
But brokers also noted that money managers at investing institutions were still eager to buy, in order to show heavily invested positions in stocks when they make their first-quarter reports to clients at the end of March.
Blue Chips Surge
In addition, individual retirement account contributions for 1986 can be made until April 15. A great deal of that money is believed to be heading into mutual funds that invest in stocks.
Among the blue chips, General Electric climbed 3 to 110, International Business Machines rose 1 1/8 to 149 3/4, International Paper gained 2 3/8 to 106, McDonald’s advanced 2 1/2 to 79 5/8 and American Telephone & Telegraph, subject of a favorable assessment in Barron’s magazine, rose 7/8 to 24 7/8.
Point-plus gains also were common in the energy sector. Exxon advanced 2 1/2 to 88, Standard Oil gained 2 to 66 1/2, Chevron climbed 1 to 58 3/4 and Amoco rose 2 1/2 to 83 7/8.
Some semiconductor stocks advanced on word that Japan had called on its chip manufacturers to cut production. Texas Instruments gained 4 1/2 to 180, and National Semiconductor was up 1/8 at 16.
Harper & Row Publishers picked up 4 1/2 to 54 1/2. The company said it had received expressions of interest from several other parties about a possible acquisition or restructuring transaction.
ASA Ltd. rose 2 3/8 to 54. The closed-end investment company denied rumors that it was planning to convert to open-ended mutual fund status.
More Block Trades
Advancing issues outnumbered declines by about five to four in the overall tally on the NYSE, with 874 up, 696 down and 421 unchanged. The exchange’s composite index gained 1.48 to 170.83.
Large blocks of 10,000 or more shares traded on the NYSE totaled 3,645, compared to 4,681 Friday.
Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 221.09 million shares.
Standard & Poor’s index of 400 industrials rose 3.83 to 345.82, and S&P;’s 500-stock composite index was up 2.99 at 301.16, breaking 300 for the first time.
The Wilshire index of 5,000 equities closed at 3,012.118, up 19.364.
The NASDAQ composite index dropped 1.60 to 438.04. The American Stock Exchange index closed at 338.93, up 1.13.
In the credit markets, bond prices fell in mostly quiet trading Monday, depressed by the dollar’s decline and a persistently high federal funds rate. Some longer-term issues posted sharp losses.
The Treasury’s closely watched 30-year bond declined about 5/16 point, or $3.15 for every $1,000 in face value, while its yield jumped to 7.56% from 7.52% late Friday.
The fed funds rate, the interest on overnight loans between banks, was quoted late in the day at 6.125%, unchanged from Friday. The rate has moved little in recent weeks, remaining at relatively high levels. Bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions.
Concern Over Rate
“There’s some concern over the funds rate,” said Jay Goldinger, an investment broker for Cantor, Fitzgerald & Co. in Beverly Hills. “The market is so quiet, that if someone has an ax to grind they can do it.”
In addition, he suggested, professional dealers may have tried to make bonds cheaper before today’s Treasury auction of $10 billion in two-year notes. The Treasury also plans to auction $7.75 billion in four-year notes on Wednesday.
In Monday’s more routine auction, interest rates on three- and six-month Treasury bills fell for the second consecutive week, returning to levels in effect at the beginning of the month.
Analysts said bond prices also were pressured by the dollar’s weakness on world foreign exchange markets.
The U.S. currency fell Monday following remarks by Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III that the Reagan Administration doesn’t have any targets now for the dollar’s value against other major currencies.
Bond investors are concerned about a drop in the value of the dollar, since they fear it will make dollar-denominated instruments, such as bonds and notes, less attractive to foreign investors.
Japan’s Kyodo news service reported Monday that the major industrial nations forming the so-called Group of Five and Group of Seven may meet next month when the interim committee of the International Monetary Fund convenes in Washington.
