FINANCIAL MARKETS : STOCKS : Energy Issues Slump in Quiet, Aimless Market
Energy stocks posted broad losses Wednesday while the rest of the stock market drifted aimlessly in a quiet session.
The Dow Jones index of 30 industrials slipped 1.35 to 2,729.73, marking the sixth consecutive session in which it rose or fell less than 10 points.
Declining issues slightly outnumbered advances in nationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, with 720 up, 762 down and 497 unchanged.
Big Board volume was 141.08 million shares, compared to 136.02 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 168.45 million shares.
Analysts said traders were proceeding cautiously as they watched the first corporate earnings reports for the January-March quarter come in.
Energy stocks declined broadly, weighed down by recent weakness in world oil prices. Mobil dropped 1 to 59 5/8, Amoco fell 7/8 to 50 1/2, Texaco slid 1 to 57 3/8, Atlantic Richfield dropped 2 1/4 to 112 7/8 and Unocal fell 1/2 to 29 3/4.
Among oil service issues, Schlumberger lost 1 to 50, Baker Hughes dropped 1 3/8 to 25 7/8 and Halliburton fell 5/8 to 43 1/2.
Airlines, large consumers of fuel, gained. AMR rose 1 to 66 3/8, Delta jumped 1 1/8 to 73 5/8 and Southwest added 3/4 to 25.
Among banks and S&Ls;, HomeFed jumped 1 1/2 to 27 7/8 after reporting higher first-quarter earnings. Federal National Mortgage climbed 7/8 to 35 on its earnings report. Elsewhere, Santa Monica Bank tumbled 3 3/8 to 32 5/8 in thin trading.
High-tech stocks generally were strong. Compaq rose 2 1/8 to 98 5/8, Microsoft gained 3 to 121 and Teradata added 2 to 32.
Prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed slightly lower Wednesday in calm trading. The blue chip Nikkei index of 225 selected issues, which fell 773.25 points Tuesday, slipped another 184.40 points to 29,440.28.
Stock prices fell on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with investors reluctant to buy ahead of the four-day Easter weekend. The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100-share index closed down 2 points, at 2,215.5.
