Transportation Index Posts Hefty Gain; Dow Adds 3 in Quiet Session

The stock market drifted aimlessly in quiet trading Wednesday, still seemingly in the “summer doldrums” with autumn about to arrive.

Wall Street stocks closed generally higher Wednesday, but the gains came mainly among blue chip issues, leaving much of the rest of the market on the sidelines.

The Dow Jones index of 30 industrials closed 3.02 higher at 2,090.50. The Dow Jones transportation average was up a healthy 5.97 at 892.77.

But declining issues slightly outnumbered advances in nationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, with 689 up, 697 down and 536 unchanged.

Traders said the market received a mild boost from economic figures from Washington. The government said that consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, about what Wall Street had expected. Analysts also said a 3.3% fall in August housing starts showed that the economy was not overheating.

Big Board volume totaled 127.40 million shares, down from Tuesday’s 142.22 million.

‘Employment Important’

Activity was curtailed somewhat by the absence of investors who were observing the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

Bond prices staged a modest advance in the credit markets, putting yields on long-term government bonds just a shade above 9%.

“Apathy and lethargy continue to be the key words to describe conditions in the stock market,” the Merrill Lynch Market Letter said in its current edition.

Andrew Riley, portfolio strategist at Yamaichi International, said investors are still searching for signs of a slowing economy. “The employment (report) is the really important number,” he said.

Analysts said stock prices were expected to consolidate for a while before the market launches another attempt at breaking through resistance at the 2,100 level. Blue chips finished at 2,100.64 last Wednesday.

Riley said drug stocks appeared to be coming back into favor with investors. Among the strongest gainers were Eli Lilly & Co., up 2 1/8 at 89; Pfizer, which rose 1 to 55; Squibb Corp., up 1 1/2 at 67, and Schering-Plough, ahead 1 at 55 5/8.

Stocks of drug companies are considered defensive investments because the issues usually outperform the market in a recession.

Newmont Mining climbed 2 to 36 on word that Minorco was offering to acquire Consolidated Gold Fields, which owns just under half of Newmont.

In the blue chip sector, General Electric rose to 43; International Business Machines gained 1/2 to 113; Philip Morris rose 1 to 96 3/4; General Motors dropped 3/8 to 73 7/8, and American Telephone & Telegraph was unchanged at 26 1/2.

Foreign Markets Advance

Regina Co. tumbled 10 to 7 in the over-the-counter market. The company, a manufacturer of floor-care products, said late Tuesday that it would report a loss for the current quarter, citing a slowdown of orders and other problems.

Precious metals stocks were mixed, holding their ground even as the price of gold fell below $400 an ounce for the first time in more than a year and a half. ASA Ltd. rose 1/2 to 36 1/2, while Hecla Mining dropped 3/8 to 13 7/8.

The Wilshire index of 5,000 equities closed at 2,688.287, up 4.703.

The NYSE’s composite index of all its listed common stocks gained 0.20 to 152.64.

Standard & Poor’s industrial index rose 0.64 to 310.11, and S&P;’s 500-stock composite index was up 0.43 at 270.16.

The NASDAQ composite index picked up 0.81 to 384.91; the American Stock Exchange index closed at 298.97, up 0.34.

Tokyo share prices reversed their downward spiral to close higher, as investors came in hunting for bargains in the afternoon.

The Nikkei 225-share index rose 164.08 to 27,712.66. It plunged 352.42 on Tuesday.

Share prices rose strongly in London. The Financial Times 100-share index finished up 24.7 at 1,796.8.