Dow Climbs 2.73 on Quiet Trading Day

The stock market edged upward in quiet trading today, biding its time pending developments in the Persian Gulf showdown.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 2.73 to 2,501.49, trimming its loss for the week to 64.60 points.

Advancing issues outnumbered declines by about 11 to 10 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 751 up, 680 down and 549 unchanged.

Big Board volume totaled 123.05 million shares, against 124.51 million in the previous session.

The NYSE’s composite index gained .35 to 172.78.

Analysts said traders were reluctant to commit themselves either way before they could see whether the long confrontation between Iraq and the United States would lead to war.

The Treasury’s bellwether 30-year bond, which shot up nearly 1 1/2 points on Thursday, fell 5/32 point or about $1.56 per $1,000 in face amount, by midday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the bond’s price, rose to 8.34% from 8.32% late Thursday.

In the secondary market for Treasury bonds today, prices for short-term maturities were unchanged to 1/32 point lower, intermediate maturities fell 1/32 point to 1/8 point and long-term issues slipped 1/8 point to 3/16 point, the Telerate Inc. financial information service reported.