Wall St climbs again

Press, 24 September 1983, Page 20

Wall St climbs again

NZPA New York The New York stock market pushed ahead on Thursday, resuming its recent advance after a mild setback on Wednesday.

The Government had issued on Wednesday an estimate of economic growth at a 7 per cent annual rate, after adjustment for inflation, for the third quarter. That provided evidence that the recovery from the recession was still proceeding at a brisk pace. At the same time, Commerce Department statistics showed prices rising at a 3.2 per cent annual rate — the lowest for any quarter for more than a decade.

Interest rates rose in the credit markets on Wednesday, putting a damper on stock traders’ enthusiasm. But rates levelled off on Thursday. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials jumped 14.23 points to 1257.52, surpassing the peak of 1249.19 it reached on Monday.

Advances outpaced declines about three to two. Volume totalled 97.05 million shares, against 91.28 M in the previous sesson.

The exchange’s composite index rose 0.74 points to 98.20.

The American dollar reached a record high against the Italian lira on Thursday and rose against most other major currencies in listless trading amid uncertainty about the course of interest rates in the United States.

One currency to consistently gain against the dollar was the Japanese yen. But against most other currencies, the dollar posted slight gains. And in late trading in Milan, the dollar closed at a record-high rate of 1620.50 lire.

The lira is suffering from the Italian Government’s failure to take urgent measures to improve the economy and support recession-hit industry. Another currency analyst said there was a “growing lack of confidence about the lira.”