The market seems to be marking time...

The market seems to be marking time as it moves up and down with large, erratic swings, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finding it difficult to close above the 3,000 mark, said Irving Katz, an independent stock analyst in San Diego.

Most San Diego stocks remained mired in their narrow trading range, but last week produced the largest number of 52-week highs so far this year, Katz said. The five new highs included PS Group at $50, WD-40 at $29.75, Synbiotics at $4.75, Quidel at $7.50 and Magma Power at $32.25.

The largest point mover was Cubic Corp., which gained $3.25 on very heavy volume Monday after a delayed opening. Saturday’s New York Times reported that Cubic had won a $675-million contract to install an automated fare system in the New York City subway.

However, subsequent reports said that the contract, which is to be awarded in several phases, was “only in the discussion phase,” Katz said.

Gensia Pharmaceuticals, which was making a new high last week, fell $2.25 to $15.25 as it prepares to market 2 million shares that were registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 12.

Xytronyx continued to gain, closing up $.875 at $20.375. Edgar O. Appleby, a New York investor, said he had raised his stake in the company to 9.5%, or 305,000 of Xytronyx’s outstanding shares.

Profit-taking hit Molecular Biosystems, which gave up $2.50 after a recent string of good gains.