FINANCIAL MARKETS : Stocks Up, Bonds Flat in Sluggish Session
Stocks rose Thursday, but trading was sluggish as inves tors remained divided about whether interest rates are headed up.
The Dow Jones industrial average posted single-digit gains for most of the session, then climbed higher in the last hour of trading, ending 23.21 points higher at 3,870.77.
Broad market indexes rose too. The New York Stock Exchange composite index climbed 1.18 points to 257.18. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index added 2.38 points to 472.78.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 5.33 points to 763.64, and the American Stock Exchange’s market value index advanced 1.53 points to 438.45.
But traders said the market’s increase lacked conviction, with advancing issues outnumbering decliners by about a slim margin of about 7 to 5 on the NYSE. Big Board volume totaled 322.12 million shares, down from Wednesday’s 395.32 million.
Elsewhere, the Treasury’s key 30-year bond yield closed unchanged 7.74% as traders positioned themselves for today’s release of January employment figures. Those numbers will provide the first real indication of the economy’s health so far this year.
At the same time, the dollar finished mixed against major foreign currencies as traders refrained from making large moves before the employment report’s release.
Among Thursday’s highlights:
* Leading the 30 Dow index components higher were a mix of cyclical and consumer stocks. International Paper rose 1 1/8 to 73 3/8; Sears added 1 1/8 to 46 1/2; McDonald’s climbed 1 to 33, and AT&T; advanced 3/4 to 50 1/4.
Boeing rose 3/8 to 46 1/4 after announcing it will cut its work force by as many as 7,000 this year.
* Salomon surprised Wall Street with a fourth-quarter loss from operations and a bigger-than-expected charge to correct bookkeeping. But its shares ended unchanged at 37 3/4.
* U.S. store chains posted robust January sales, but price markdowns eroded their profits. Dayton Hudson’s same-store sales rose 5%, and its stock gained 1 7/8 to 72 1/8. Gap sales rose 7%, lifting the stock 1/2 to 33 1/2.
* ITT posted a 50% jump in fourth-quarter profits, and its stock surged 3 1/2 to 92 1/2.
* Semitool rose 4 to 17 in an initial public offering of 3 million shares priced at $13 per share.
* Technology issues put in another strong day after losing ground last week. Semiconductor giant Intel rose 1 9/16 to 72 3/16; Apple, 1 1/2 to 41 5/8, and IBM, 3/4 to 74 3/8 on the Big Board.
* Browning-Ferris rose 1 1/8 to 32 1/4 after the waste disposal company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
* Halliburton fell 1 1/4 to 35 despite fourth-quarter results showing a profit where there had been a loss a year ago. NatWest Securities downgraded the stock, advising investors to lighten their positions in the oil services company because of its vulnerability to reductions in natural gas drilling.
Overseas stock markets were mostly lower.
Mexico’s Bolsa index fell 2.7%, dragged down by profit-taking, the hike in U.S. interest rates and a drop in Mexican shares on Wall Street. The key index dropped 53.91 points to 1,943.88.
Tokyo’s key 225-share Nikkei average closed down 135.17 points at 18,604.30, and Frankfurt’s 30-share average ended off 3.18 points at 2,045.25. In London, the Financial Times 100-share average gained 17.4 points to finish at 3,034.7.
