Dow Gains 1.78 to End Week Up 51 Points

The stock market posted some small gains Friday amid what analysts described as year-end crosscurrents of buying and selling.

The Dow Jones index of 30 industrials rose 1.78 to 2,143.49, closing out the week with a net gain of 51.21 points.

Advancing issues outnumbered declines by about 5 to 4 in nationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed issues, with 769 up, 639 down and 581 unchanged.

Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 133.77 million shares, against 124.15 million in the previous session. Nationwide, consolidated volume in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 154.77 million shares.

Analysts said some buying was prompted by expectations that investing institutions might want to increase their stock holdings before they make year-end reports to clients.

At the same time, they said, the peak period has arrived for year-end selling by investors looking to reduce their income taxes.

Awaiting Economic Data

Given these seasonal forces, brokers said, it was difficult to discern any trends in the making for stock prices.

Wall Streeters were also looking ahead to a full menu of economic news next week, including the monthly report on the nation’s trade balance, which is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday.

Economists at Merrill Lynch project the figure for October to be little changed from September, when imports exceeded exports by $9 billion excluding freight and insurance costs.

Rite Aid sustained one of the day’s largest percentage losses, tumbling 3 1/2 to 31 1/4. The company estimated a 20% decline in earnings for the fiscal quarter that ended Nov. 26.

Blocks of 10,000 or more shares traded on the NYSE totaled 2,481, compared to 2,689 on Thursday.

Stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange firmed slightly during the afternoon to close mixed in mostly dull trading. The Nikkei index of 225 shares edged up 34.52 to close at 29,793.42

In London, the Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-share index closed down 7.6 at 1,750.3.