Dow Gains 10.94 in Mixed Market
Blue chip stocks rose Monday, but the broader market was lower as worries about inflation and higher interest rates cast a negative pall over trading.
The Dow Jones index of 30 industrials rose 10.94 to 2,043.27 and Big Board volume came to 136.47 million shares, against 135.62 million in the previous session.
But declining issues outnumbered advances by more than 4 to 3 in New York Stock Exchange-listed trading, with 617 up, 875 down and 488 unchanged.
Larger-than-expected rises in U.S. factory orders and U.S construction spending in March hurt bonds early Monday, making it difficult for stocks to rally.
The 1.6% rise in factory orders and the 1.5% gain in construction spending may indicate that the economy has enough strength for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to curb inflation and keep the dollar stable, analysts said.
“The market is in a mode where it can’t stand good news,” said Robert Stovall, president of Stovall/Twenty First Advisers.
Stovall contends that most investors are wearing blinders that allow them to see only inflation and rising interest rates in the healthy economic data.
“Today, we had a peculiar situation where interest rate sensitive stocks moved lower and oil stocks moved lower. Investors are confused,” Stovall said.
The market also hasn’t shown much response to generally strong corporate earnings reports for the first quarter.
Little Direction
Analysts say individual investors and professional money managers continue to shy away from stocks, with memories still fresh of the crash last fall and controversy continuing over the effects of computer program trading.
Energy stocks were mostly lower on news that oil-producing nations hadn’t reached any agreement to restrain production. Amoco dropped 5/8 to 77 1/2, Mobil dipped 1/2 to 46, Atlantic Richfield slipped 1 3/8 to 87, Occidental Petroleum lost 3/8 to 26 5/8 and Chevron eased 1/2 to 47 1/2.
Atlantic Richfield reported sharply higher first-quarter profits.
At the same time, airline stocks rose on the prospect of lower fuel prices. AMR added 1 1/8 to 44, Allegis gained 2 3/8 to 84 3/8 and Delta Air Lines advanced 1 to 49 3/4.
Arkansas Best jumped 7 1/8 to 23, posting the day’s best percentage gain. A venture of two partnerships said it planned a $20-a-share offer for the company, and traders bid the stock up anticipating the possibility of a higher bid or bids.
Learonal Inc., which said it was talking to Asarco about a possible deal, gained 2 7/8 to 19 1/8.
Share prices rose across the board on the Tokyo Stock Exchange while the dollar closed stronger.
The Nikkei 225-share index, the market’s main barometer, closed at a record high of 27,669.72, up 160.18 points from Saturday’s close. Volume was estimated at a moderate 900 million shares.
The London Stock Exchange was closed for a holiday.
