Wall Street last week

Press, 14 April 1980, Page 20

Wall Street last week

The Wall Street shareimarket managed to turn jaround last week after a disastrous start On Mondaj' jwhen the Dow Jones industrial average fell almost 16 points. The index closed onj Friday at 791.55 for a net; gain of 7.42 points on the; week.

The early weakness was a reaction to the breaking off between the United States and Iran of diplomatic relations, and fears of recession. The new recession indication came from a survey of corporate purchasing managers, who said that they were more pessimistic about the economy’s future and that new orders were down sharply. The previous week.; the Government reported that producer prices rose 1.41

pOr cent in March, and that unemployment rose to 6.3 per cent. Although trading remained only moderately active, the market rallied in the remainder of the week, because of bargain hunting after the sharp losses in the market since mid-February when the i Carter administration an|n o u h c e d anti-inflation moves. Citicorp's chairman (Mr Walter Wriston) said that the prime interest rate, now at 20 per cent, has peaked. He said that the economy was slowing, and that rates| should tumble in six to nine months. A decline in retail sales in March, the second month in ia row that sales have been I lower, was seen as another

.indication of an easing ftt;’ ithe economy which wouldA itake pressure off interest. I rates. These hopes were fuelled' , when the New York affiliate * of an Israeli bank cut _i.tS.-i prime rate to 19? per cent, although no major banks’ followed suit. Closing prices on Friday;® of a selection of issues, were: ABC, 26 1/2; Alcan, 53 7/8:*Alcoa, 55 7/8; Am ax, 44; Amarada’*? Hess. 46 1/4; Am Express, 30 3/8: ; Am Motors, 6 1/8; Armco, 26 1/4:2 Asarco. 35 3/4; AT and T, 50; * At! Rich, 86 5/8; Beth Stl, 20 Boeing, 58 1/8; Borden, 20; Bur-’"* roughs. 67 5/8; CBS, 45 1/2; C«i-‘T corp, 19 5/8; Coca Cola, 30 1/2:Cont Oil, 44 1/8; Digital Eq, 6$ ‘ 5/8; Disney, 44 1/2; Dom Minfei,/: 59 7/8: Dow, 31 1/4: Du Pont;' 35; East Kodak, 49 1/2; EngeFhard, 29 1/2; Exxon, 57 1/4; Firestone. 6 3/8; Ford. 26 3/8: Free,i Min, 39 7/8; Gen Dynam, 69 7/8;./ Gen Elec, 47 1/2; Gen .Motors, i 43 5/8: Gen Tyres. 13 1/8; Good-.j year. 19 1/8; Greyhound, 15 3/81S Grumman, 21 3/4; Gulf Oil, -39 - 3/4; Halibut-toil. 96 1/8; Home->, stake, 43 3/4; Honeywell, 73 3/8;P IBM, 53 5/8; Int Harv, 25 7/81Inco. 24 1/8; ITT, 26 1/4; Johns/. Mariv, 18 3/4; J and J. 71; Kaisec’a Alum. 19 3/4; Kennecott, 27 1/4;: K-Mart, 19 3/8; Lockheed, 31 1/4; - McDofialds. 40 7/8; McDon Doug,-, 38 7/8; MGM, 17; MMM, 50 1/8;.Mobil, 68 7/8; Monsanto, 45 3/8;» NCR, 56 1/4; Newm Jilin, 35 1/2;G Pfizer, 38 1/4: Phel Dodge, 28 1/2; ’ Phil Pct, 41 1/2: Polaroid, 21 1/4; » Pullman, 26; Raytheon, 70 1/2;-, RCA, 21; Reyn Metal, 30 l/4;t; Roval Dutch. 74 1/4; Seagram,,v 53 5/8; Sears Roe,. 16 1/4: Shell Oil. 59 .1/4: Shell Trans. 30 1/4;.4 Sperrv Rand. 45 3/4: St Joe, 41 n. 1/2; Socal. 68 1/8; Texaco, 34 578; Texas Gulf, 33 7/8; Texas Inst, it 86 3/8; Union Carbide, 39.7/8; r Union Oil, 50 1/8; US Steel, JT.. 3/4; Westinghouse, 22 3/8; Wool-t worths, 23 1/8; Xerox, 51,1/2.- € « :) g