Dow Tumbles, Dips Below 4,600

Blue chips took a late afternoon dive, but most of the stock market kept its head above water Wednesday, closing mixed on a day of light trading with little economic or corporate news.

Analysts said selling accelerated after the Dow Jones industrial average dipped below 4,600 at around 3 p.m. That number has been a recent benchmark and a dip below it triggered some selling by bearish investors who fear this year’s market rally may be waning.

“You may have had some people deciding to take profits, given the magnitude of the market’s move (upward) since last November,” said David Bostian, chief economist at Herzog, Heine, Geduld Inc. in New York.

Technology stocks, after wavering early in the day, resumed their recent strength and closed higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 35.57 points to close at 4,584.85.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a nearly 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume was a light 291.39 million shares as of 4 p.m., up slightly from 290.36 million on Tuesday.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially Wednesday:

NYSE

H&R Block Inc., up 1-1/4 to 37-1/2.

CS First Boston Inc. upgraded the owner of the CompuServe computer online service, saying the stock price was abnormally low compared with its rival America Online Inc. J.P. Morgan Securities began coverage of the company saying the stock will perform on the same par as the stock market in general.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., down 1-1/2 to 39-1/2.

The company revealed it has been subpoenaed as part of a Justice Department antitrust investigation of the tire industry. Also, Merrill Lynch downgraded its investment rating on the company to neutral from above average.

NASDAQ

Applied Materials Inc., up 2-1/8 to 113.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of equipment used in the manufacturing of computer chips was among rising technology issues.

Roadway Services Inc., up 4-3/8 to 55-1/2.

The Akron, Ohio-based package delivery and transportation company said it would spin off its largest subsidiary, the trucking unit Roadway Express.

AMEX

Trans World Airlines, up 1-1/4 to 6-1/4.

The airline is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.