The passage of a two-year, $76-billion deficit...
The passage of a two-year, $76-billion deficit reduction plan didn’t do much for the stock market, which feebly attempted to rally some of the blue-chip stocks, said Irving Katz, director of research at Thomas Green Associates/San Diego Securities.
Expectations are that the deficit reduction will be too little and too late to help an economy that has still not reacted to the Oct. 19 crash. Every listed New York and American Stock Exchange stock was either lower or unchanged for the week with only a smattering of pluses in the over-the-counter market.
Price Co., while down one-half to 28 for the week, appears to be gaining some support by virtue of its recommendation on last week’s “Wall Street Week” on the PBS network, as it gained one point Monday. In Price Co., investors can now find a growth stock, which they were willing to pay 40 times earnings for earlier this year, now selling for 15 times the current year’s projected earnings.
The savings and loans continue to drop for no apparent reason. Home Federal was down 2 7/8 to 22 1/8 as institutional investors deserted California’s savings and loans. Great American First Savings Bank was down seven-eighths to 12 1/8.
Negative or positive news seemed to have little effect on some San Diego stocks. Kaypro was unchanged despite its extremely large fourth-quarter loss and write-offs for obsolete inventory and non-collection of a large account receivable.
Maxwell Laboratories, likewise, is unchanged after reporting extremely positive earnings of 33 cents per share, versus 25 cents last year, for the first quarter of its fiscal year.
Henley Group fell 1 1/2 to 18 1/2 with prospects dimming for a possible merger with Santa Fe Southern Pacific and prospects for earnings in 1988 even dimmer. A recent Value Line report forecasts continuing deficits for Henley in 1988.
On the other hand, Henley’s subsidiary, Fisher Scientific Group, was up 1 to 17 1/2, making a total gain of 5 1/2 points for the month.
Chopp Computer was up one-half to 1. Chopp’s high for the year was 6.
