Dow Inches Up; Tech Shares Take a Beating
The Dow Jones industrial average pulled off a late rebound to post a slim gain Monday, but most stocks pulled back modestly as money managers worked to guard 1996’s robust gains with the year winding down.
The Dow rose 4.62 points to 6,489.02, erasing a 34-point drop in the last half hour.
Broader measures fell, with the Nasdaq market showing the worst damage as computer-related shares gave up some ground for the second consecutive session. The Nasdaq composite index fell 9.04 points to 1,279.52.
Technology shares “have been great stocks this year, and for investors trying to nail down some profits in the last week, that’s one sector they would turn to,” said Jim Weiss of State Street Research and Management Co. in Boston.
Stocks slipped despite a strong bond market, where the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 6.58% from late Friday’s 6.60%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by nearly 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange, where the preholiday volume was predictably slack two days before Christmas.
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 1.95 points to 746.92, the NYSE’s composite index fell 0.82 point to 393.29, and the American Stock Exchange’s market value index fell 1.03 point to 580.98.
Among Monday’s highlights:
* Philip Morris led gainers among the Dow industrials, rising 2 to 113. But its gains were pared to 112 1/8 in after-hours trading.
* Computer industry shares were hit hard as results from the weekend’s Christmas shopping suggested consumers shunned expensive gifts such as personal computers in favor of clothing and housewares.
Dell Computer retreated 3 1/4 to 51 3/4; Compaq Computer slid 4 1/8 to 72 5/8; and Gateway 2000 declined 2 5/8 to 54 3/4.
Other computer stocks retreated as well: Intel dropped 2 3/8 to 132 1/4, Oracle declined 7/8 to 42 3/8 and IBM slid 3/8 to 154 1/4.
Apple Computer fell 1/4 to 23 1/4 after rallying as much as 1 point earlier in the day.
Overseas, Mexico City’s Bolsa dropped 0.37% after the country’s inflation rate rose more than expected. Frankfurt’s DAX index fell 0.3% and London’s FTSE-100 rose 0.2%. Japanese financial markets were closed for a holiday.
