Dow Up 21 on Positive Profit News : Market Overview : <i> Highlights of Tuesday’s market activity, compiled from Times staff and wire reports: : </i>
* The stock market rose broadly after more companies reported solid second-quarter earnings and despite government economic data indicating a lackluster recovery.
* The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 21.08 points to 3,358.39.
* The dollar rose against major foreign currencies in what traders described as technical dealing ahead of a German central bank meeting later this week.
Stocks
Positive corporate earnings reports and two benign readings on the economy lent the market a positive bias throughout the day. But the modest gains soared in the last hour of trading, fueled by program trading.
In the broader market, advancing issues outnumbered declines by about 12 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Big Board volume came to 195.57 million shares, up from 148.88 million Monday.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.5% in June, matching forecasts by many economists. And the Labor Department reported consumer prices rose a moderate 0.3% in June, also as predicted.
The reports indicated a lackluster recovery coupled with low inflation.
But the principal factor influencing stocks Tuesday was corporate earnings reports, said Don Hays, investment strategist at Wheat First-Butcher & Singer.
Among the companies reporting solid earnings for the three months ended June 30 were brokerage firms, which saw their stocks rise as a consequence.
* Merrill Lynch rose 7/8 to 52 3/8, PaineWebber rose 1/4 to 22 3/8, and Primerica, the parent firm of Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co., jumped 1 3/4 to 40 7/8.
* Shares of soft-drink makers were lower despite Coca-Cola Co.’s on-target earnings, announced Tuesday. Coca-Cola fell 5/8 to 41 1/2, while Pepsico fell 1/4 to 36 3/8.
Late in the day, program trading, largely among oil stocks, pushed stocks higher.
Among the market highlights:
* Pennzoil soared 3 7/8 to 48 7/8, Atlantic Richfield rose 2 5/8 to 111 7/8, Mobil jumped 2 1/8 to 65, and Chevron rose 1 3/8 to 70. Oil service stocks were also higher.
Among other actively traded NYSE issues, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold was unchanged at 21 after a new offering by the company was priced at $21 a share.
* Telefonos de Mexico was up 3/4 at 47 3/8 after announcing that its board authorized the repurchase of up to $300 million shares on the Mexican stock exchange.
* Advanced Micro Devices was up 1/4 at 8 3/4 after it was reported that the company and Fujitsu Ltd. of Japan signed a $700-million joint venture.
Overseas, Tokyo stocks wound down a quiet session to close lower, with the 255-share Nikkei average off 137.10 points at 17,064.63.
Frankfurt’s 30-share DAX average ended the day 2.4 points lower at 1,734.10 in a subdued session.
In London, the Financial Times index of 100 leading shares rallied in late trading after Prime Minister John Major predicted a recovery in the British economy later in the year. The index closed up 5.7 points at 2,484.0.
Currency
The dollar’s rise came at the expense of the German mark and the Japanese yen, traders said. The mark fell after a two-day rally spurred by persistent speculation that Germany’s Bundesbank may soon hike interest rates. Some traders sold the mark during the session and bought dollars in technically driven trading.
The technical selling also hit the Japanese yen, traders said.
The dollar was quoted at 1.485 German marks in New York, up from 1.476 marks Monday. The dollar also rose against the Japanese yen, closing at 125.10, up from 124.85 yen.
In New York, the British pound fell to $1.920 from $1.930 the day before.
Credit
Prices of short-term Treasury securities rose on renewed buying and favorable economic news, but long-term issues fell.
The price of the Treasury’s 30-year bond dropped 1/8 point, or $1.25 per $1,000 in face amount. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the bond’s price, rose to 7.69% from 7.68% late Monday.
William V. Sullivan, director of money market research at Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., said there was a steady flow of money into two-year, three-year, five-year and 10-year Treasury notes.
Analysts said the appeal of these securities may have stemmed from nervousness about the economy and inflation.
The federal funds rate, the interest on overnight loans between banks, was quoted at 3.188%, down from 3.25% late Monday.
Commodities
Talk that Ivory Coast and Ghana were selling cocoa prompted a $45-per-ton dive in its spot price Tuesday on New York’s Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange.
It was the market’s steepest drop since it began a dramatic recovery June 25 from a 19-year low.
On other commodity markets, lumber futures fell; precious metals advanced; energy futures were mixed; grains and soybeans were mixed, and livestock and meat futures were mixed.
Meanwhile, gold and silver rose on New York’s Commodity Exchange, mainly on technical factors. August gold rose $2 to $351.80 an ounce, and July silver climbed 1.9 cents to $3.938 an ounce.
Oil futures finished mixed on the New York Merc, with gasoline finally gaining ground on home heating oil. Light, sweet crude oil for August delivery rose 10 cents to $21.46 per barrel; August unleaded gasoline climbed 0.93 cent to 59.03 cents a gallon; August heating oil fell 0.15 cent to 59.90 cents a gallon.
