Also. . .

* General Motors Corp. completed its second buyback of $2.5 billion worth of stock since January 1997 and said it began repurchasing stock under a $4-billion program announced last month. GM will have repurchased $9 billion of its stock, or about 20% of shares outstanding, once the latest program is completed in about a year. GM shares rose 31 cents to close at $73.13 on the NYSE.

* The Federal Express Pilots Assn. rejected union leaders’ calls to approve their first work contract with the airline. The 1,322-1,023 vote is not expected to immediately affect operations, analysts said.

* Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will answer by April 8 government antitrust objections to their proposed $12-billion combination, a Lockheed spokesman said.