Indexes Mixed as Investors’ Moods Eddy
Stocks ended Friday’s session narrowly mixed as bond yields gyrated, muddying the outlook for interest rates.
In a market full of cross-currents, investors bought the issues of economically sensitive companies, which had been battered earlier in the week. But they took profits in those sectors that had outperformed the rest of the market, such as consumer stocks.
Oil stocks rose along with crude oil prices, but utility and banking stocks fell as interest rates crept up.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.86 points to 3,648.68, losing 12.79 for the week. But in the broader market, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 11 to 8 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 295.78 million shares, down from 378.77 million the day before.
In the meantime, broad-market indexes were mixed. The NYSE’s composite index fell 0.23 to 247.95, while the S&P; 500 index lost 1.10 to 447.63. The Nasdaq composite index of mostly smaller issues rose 3.52 to 722.56.
Long-term interest rates finished slightly higher, with the benchmark 30-year bond closing at 7.22%, about even with its level Thursday. But the fixed-income market swung narrowly throughout the day, pulling stock prices along with it.
Traders said the market was taking a breather after Thursday’s dramatic 53.83-point rise in the Dow, when stocks soared as bonds rose sharply and good earnings from IBM pushed technology issues higher.
Among the market highlights:
Oil stocks rose amid a rise in the oil market. The June contract on crude oil rose 51 cents per barrel to $17.14 on the New York Merc.
* Atlantic Richfield rose 1 to 98 1/8; Texaco jumped 1 1/8 to 65. Mobil rose 2 1/4 to 78 3/8 after it reported surprisingly strong first-quarter profit. Exxon, up 5/8 to 63 1/8, also reported good earnings.
* Utilities fell amid interest rate worries, pushing the Dow Jones utility average down 1.91 to 199.25. Pacific Gas & Electric lost 1 3/4 to 27 1/2. PaineWebber downgraded the utility stock to “unattractive” from “neutral.”
* Banking stocks also fell. Chase Manhattan lost 1 to 33 3/4, Bank of New York fell 1 to 53 7/8 and BankAmerica fell 1 3/4 to 44.
* Telefonos de Mexico, which led the volume on the New York Stock Exchange, rose 2 5/8 to 57 1/2. The stock has been recovering from steep losses earlier in the week tied to political uncertainty in Mexico.
* IBM was second in volume and gained 3/8 to 58 3/4, extending a 6 1/8-point gain Thursday after releasing good first-quarter earnings.
* Promus was third in volume and was down 1 5/8 at 32 after a long-delayed opening. The Louisiana attorney general required the gaming concern to rebid for its New Orleans gaming license.
* Unisys was fourth and down 2 1/2 at 11 1/2. The company posted sharply lower earnings.
* Amgen was up 4 3/4 at 42. On Thursday, Amgen reported surprisingly strong first-quarter earnings.
Foreign markets were closed higher.
Mexico’s Bolsa index recorded its biggest advance in more than three years after the Mexican central bank moved decisively to protect the weakening peso. The Bolsa rocketed 133.99 points, or 6.46%, to 2,209.31. Germany’s 30-share DAX average ended up 16.95 points at 2,213.92, while Tokyo’s key Nikkei average closed up 165.03 points at 19,964.39. In London, the Financial Times 100-share average closed 32.5 points higher at 3,133.7, which was down 35.1 from last Friday.
Market Roundup, D4
