After flirting with the 3,000 mark last...

After flirting with the 3,000 mark last week, the the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally managed Monday to close within a hair’s breadth of that mark at an all-time high of 2999.75, said Irving Katz, director of research at Thomas Green/San Diego Securities.

Although this should make some institutional stockholders happy, Katz said it is still a market that leaves average investors wondering why their stocks are not participating in the upward trend.

Six San Diego stocks gained more than one point this past week, but most of them were large capitalization stocks favored by institutions. These included Molecular Biosystems, which gained $2.50. HomeFed Corp., which is recovering from a deeply oversold position, attracted some bottom fishers and gained $1.875.

Also up was Price Co., which is finding favor with far-sighted analysts who are encouraged by Price’s plans to increase store openings to twice their normal rate, Katz said.

Other good gainers were Cubic Corp., up $1.375; Xytronyx, up $1.25, and First National Corp., which turned in a good earnings report, up $1.25.

Six San Diego so-called story stocks reached new highs during the past week. The stocks are not of institutional quality but attract investors who believe the stocks might become news makers.

Among them were Mail Boxes Etc., at $26.75. The company announced it was negotiating to sell a substantial equity position to United Parcel Service. MarrowTech, which hit a new high of $5.25, has been reaching new highs because of a patent that might lead to a product resembling artificial skin.

Mycogen, at $20.75, benefited from the growth prospects of biopesticides. Additional new highs were made by Charter Golf, at $3.50; International Totalizator Systems, at $7.875, and Medical Imaging Centers of America, at $14.50.