FINANCIAL MARKETS : Stocks Mixed as Long Yield Keeps Falling : Market Overview
Small-company stocks again hit new highs, while blue-chips went slightly lower.
* The bond market showed little movement overall, though 30-year bond yields eased further. Oil prices tumbled and gold fell.
Stocks
For a third straight day, small-company stocks led the market.
The NASDAQ composite index of mostly smaller issues jumped 3.31 points to a record 746.15. So far this week, the index is up 1.6%.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrials fell 6.15 points to 3,645.10.
Some analysts said that although the NASDAQ rally was encouraging, the blue-chips’ weakness suggested that investors are running out of stock ideas. Lackluster economic reports may finally be catching up with stocks, some experts say.
“The market looks tired,” said Hersh Cohen, head of Smith Barney Shearson Asset Management.
Still, advancing stocks outnumbered the losers on the New York Stock Exchange as well as on NASDAQ.
Among the market highlights:
* The NASDAQ rally was paced by telecommunications issues. Investors see fast growth worldwide for that industry in this decade.
Telecommunications and wireless-communications issues gainers included Dial Page, up 5 3/4 to 35; Peoples Choice TV, up 4 1/2 to 33 3/4; IDB Communications, up 3 1/4 to 53, and Andrew Corp., up 3 1/4 to 35 3/4.
* Information and entertainment stocks also rose. CBS shot up 19 to 266, a new high, on favorable reaction to the debut of the David Letterman show this week.
Other winners: Paramount Communications, up 1 1/4 to 56 3/4; RHI Entertainment, up 5/8 to 17 5/8; Viacom, up 1 to 66 1/2, and Gaylord Entertainment, up 2 to 51 1/2.
* Most defense stocks rallied as the Pentagon released its “bottoms-up” study of military needs. McDonnell-Douglas jumped 3 5/8 to 84 5/8, General Dynamics rose 2 to 96 7/8, Raytheon added 1 1/2 to 64 1/4 and GM Hughes rose 1/2 to 34 7/8. But Northrop fell 1/4 to 36 7/8.
Also, Litton rose 1/2 to 67 after being traded as high as 69 3/8 in the wake of its winning a $1.2-billion judgment Tuesday in a patent suit against Honeywell. Honeywell sank 3 3/8 to 35 1/2.
* Among Southern California issues, Hollywood Park jumped 2 3/4 to 31 3/4 after the Legislature OKd a bill to allow the racetrack owner to operate a card club. Also, garbage hauler Western Waste climbed 1 1/2 to 17 on continued speculation that the company may be sold.
* Among the day’s big losers, VF Corp. plunged 3 3/4 to 42 1/4 after the apparel firm warned of lower third-quarter earnings.
Overseas, profit takers ruled. Frankfurt’s DAX index fell 26.31 points to 1,918.58. In London, the FTSE-100 index fell 14.9 points to 3,085.1. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index eased 73.30 points to 20,953.30.
Other Markets
A new batch of weak economic data kept pressure on long-term interest rates, although shorter-term rates were mixed.
The 30-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 6.09% from 6.10% on Tuesday. The historic low for the yield was set last Thursday at 6.08%.
Another slide in commodity prices helped bonds. Light, sweet crude oil futures for October tumbled for a second day, falling 32 cents to $17.97 a barrel after a trade group reported that U.S. inventories of crude were larger than traders expected.
Market Roundup, D8
