STOCKS : Dow Edges Up 5.59 in Light Trading Day
Blue chips rose slightly Monday, but most stocks fell as lack of investor interest produced the slowest session in five months.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.59 points to 2,892.22. But declining issues outnumbered advances on the New York Stock Exchange 851 to 702.
Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 109.51 million shares, down from 174.21 million Friday and the lightest total since a 102.90 million-share day Dec. 27.
Analysts said the market appears to be slouching toward its usual summer pattern of light-volume Mondays and Fridays, as many traders and investors take extended weekend vacations.
Airline stocks provided the only real excitement Monday, as investors dumped the shares on worries about new fare wars. UAL, parent of United, fell 4 1/4 to 143 1/2; AMR, parent of American, lost 1 1/4 to 59 7/8; Delta eased 1 to 68 7/8.
Other market highlights:
* Drug stocks were strong. Glaxo added 1/4 to 39 1/8 and Bristol-Myers gained 1 1/8 to 81 1/8. Smith Barney repeated buy ratings on both. Also, Syntex gained 1 1/4 to 41 5/8. Cowen & Co. repeated a buy rating.
* Most major tech stocks weakened anew. Apple stock fell 2 5/8 to 44 1/4. After the close, Apple became the latest computer company to announce bad news, saying it would cut its work force by 10%. Among other techs, AST Research fell 1 1/2 to 20, Adobe Systems dropped 2 7/8 to 44 3/8 and Texas Instruments lost 2 1/8 to 36.
* K mart jumped 1 3/8 to 41 1/4. Kidder Peabody boosted its 1991 earnings estimate after the retailer posted higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
* Dow Chemical gained 2 to 53 3/4. First Boston upgraded its rating and Smith Barney repeated a buy rating on the company.
* Ameritrust jumped 2 1/2 to 19 5/8. The Cleveland banking giant received a merger offer worth $870 million from cross-town rival National City, which slipped 1 to 35.
* Among Southland issues, biotech and aerospace firm Whittaker gained 1 1/4 to 16 5/8, a new 52-week high, after reporting second-quarter earnings apparently above expectations. Elsewhere, Bridgford Foods leaped 2 3/4 to 19 1/2 on trading volume of just 300 shares.
SCEcorp, parent of Southern California Edison, fell 1/2 to 38 3/4 after announcing new measures to cut power-plant emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 20 years. Some investors fear the cost of the measures.
Overseas, London’s Financial Times 100-share average closed up 12.7 points at 2,466.6. The German market was closed for a holiday.
Stocks closed lower in Tokyo in the thinnest trading since January. The Nikkei average fell 178.91 points to 25,523.03.
In Mexico City, the Mexican stock market reached another record high, as the Bolsa index gained 16.49 points, or 1.6%, to 1,034.43. Cement, banking and industrial stocks led the charge.
Credit
Bond prices closed little changed in the absence of economic news.
The Treasury’s 30-year bond rose 1/16 point, or 63 cents per $1,000 in face amount. Its yield was flat at 8.28%.
The only economic report of consequence this week is the April durable goods report, due Thursday.
The fed funds rate, the rate on overnight loans between banks, rose to 5.69% from 5.68% Friday.
Currency
The dollar fell against the German mark as dealers took home profits from Friday’s strong rally.
But trading was quiet due to the holiday closing of most European markets, including France and Germany. The London market was open, however.
In New York, the dollar closed at 1.732 marks, down from 1.736 Friday. But the dollar rose to 138.50 Japanese yen from 138.20 Friday.
Traders said the dollar gained scattered support from Sweden’s sudden decision Friday to link its currency to the European Currency Unit. The decision had prompted many dealers to rush to buy the dollar on Friday.
But on Monday, profit-taking ate into the advance.
Commodities
Cotton futures soared to a 10-year high in heavy trading on the New York Cotton Exchange after a wet weekend in the Mississippi Delta added to perceptions that planting delays could threaten yields.
Cotton settled 1.25 to 1.95 cents higher, with the contract for delivery in July at 94.05 cents a pound, the highest settlement of a near-term cotton contract since Sept. 12, 1980, when the near-term contract reached 97.77 cents a pound.
In precious metals trading on New York’s Commodity Exchange, gold futures settled $2 to $2.10 higher, with June at $358.10 an ounce. Silver was 2 cents to 2.3 cents higher, with May at $4.026.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude oil futures settled 5 cents lower to 19 cents higher, with June at $21.37 a barrel.
Market Roundup, D8
