Late Wall St rally pushes Dow higher

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 16

Late Wall St rally pushes Dow higher

NZPA-Reuter New York A late rally helped push Wall Street higher just before the close on Friday (early Saturday New Zealand time) after a fairly quiet, mixed day of trading. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 8.34 points to finish at 2687.97, a gain of 3.98 points on the week. Advancing issues outnumbered declines by about 6 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 766 issues up, 640 down and 562 unchanged. The New York Stock Exchange’s composite index rose 0.69 to 192.64. The market opened weak in response to a drop in the bond market after a Labour Department report showed consumer inflation rose 0.2 per cent in July. The data was interpreted as another indication that the Federal Reserve was unlikely to lower interest rates. The bond market later changed direction, pulling stocks along with it. Although some blue-chip issues showed strong gains, the market remained generally trendless with the broader market lagging behind. Airline stocks helped push the Dow Jones transportation

average higher. UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, rose amid news that it had two new potential bidders. McGraw Hill stock also gained strongly as speculation resurfaced that Paramount Communications Inc was interested in buying the company. The market had fallen on Thursday in moderately active trading, pressured by a sharply narrower United States trade deficit that showed unexpected strength in the economy. Wall Street analysts said the decline was broad-based and came in response to a fall in the bond market. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials fell 13.66 points to close at 2679.63. Wednesday’s stock market rose in lacklustre trading, but closed below session peaks. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 5.51 points to finish at 2693.29. The market opened strong, bounced off the 2700 mark then drifted sideways during most of the session. Receding interest rate worries allowed Wall Street stocks to close narrowly higher in moderate trading on Tuesday as investors

shifted their attention to forthcoming government economic reports. Firmer bond prices after a two-day sell-off discouraged selling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 9.86 to 2687.78. Advancing issues led losers by a seven-to-six ratio. On Monday, prices had declined in relatively slow trading as the market paused after the previous week’s frantic activity. After peaking during Friday’s session above the alltime high of 2722.42 on August 25, 1987, the Dow Jones industrial average ended the session with its sharpest loss since late June, dropping 28.64 to 2683.99. Selected closing prices for Friday (points equal SUSI) include: Alcan 23%, Alcoa 74%, Alliedsig 38%, Amax 28%, Amßrpnds 75%, AmExp 37%, AmHomeProd 100%, Amerada 38%, Armco 12%, Asarco 34%, Arco 102%, Att 39%, Avon Prod 36%, Bankamer 31, BethStl 21%, Boeing 53%, Borden 72%, BristolMy 48%, Caterpilar 62%, CBS 210%, Chrysler 24%, Citicorp 31%, ClarkEqp 41, Coca Cola 66%, Colgate 57%, ComwEdison 38, ContlData 19%, Crane 32%, Corning-

Glass 41%, Digital 100%, Dow Chem 99%, DuPont 117%, East Kodak 50%, Englhrd 23%, Exxon 43%, Fluor 35%, Ford 51%, FrptMcMor 34%, GenDyn 59%, Gen Elect 58, GM 45%, Gencorp 17%, Goodyear 54%, Grace 35%, Greyhound 35%, Grumman 20%, GTECorp 59%, Gulfßes 10%, Heinz 61%, Haliburton 36%, Homestake 13%, Honeywell 87%, IBM 115, Inco 35%, IntlPaper 54%, Itt 62%, JandJ 51%, Morgan 40%, KMart 39%, Lockheed 50, Mattel 16%, McdonDoug 73%, Mcdonalds 29%, MerrylLynch 34%, Merck 75%, MMM 79%, Mobil 53%, Monsanto 119%, Navistar 4%, NCR 62%, NewmMin 39%, Occidental 28%, PacGasEl 20%, Pfizer 67%, PhelDodge 70%, PhilipMor 156%, PhilipsPet 23%, Polaroid 45%, ProctGam 122%, Raytheon 79%, ReynMetal 57%, Seagrams 78%,. Searsßoe 46%, ShellTr 41%, Schlumberger 42%, Taqdy 46, Tenneco 59%, Texaco 52%, Texaslnst 38%, Timken 38%, UnionCarb 28, Unisys 21%, UnitedTec 55, Unocal 48%, USX 34%, Disney 111%, Warner Lam 111%, Westinghouse 68%, Woolworth 63%, Xerox 67.