Late Rally Boosts Dow To Another Record High

A late rally on Friday pushed stock indexes to new highs for the second day in a row, but the market spent most of the session wobbling between the red and the black columns as buyers battled sellers for control.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which closed above 4,000 for the first time on Thursday, climbed 8.41 higher to 4,011.74.

Advancing issues narrowly led decliners, by 1,127 to 1,048 on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume totaled 302.86 million shares as of 4 p.m., down from 394.12 million Thursday.

The Dow traded in a narrow band all day as investors struggled to assess its jump into uncharted territory. Some analysts said the market had gotten ahead of itself.

“Value investors must be wondering how much further we can go on this particular run,” said James Solloway, market analyst at Argus Research.

“The path is not completely clear for a major run to the upside here, and today’s actions seem to underscore that.”

Others said that while the market might be technically poised for a temporary pullback, fundamental economics are putting a floor under stock prices.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday:

NYSE

Telefonos de Mexico’s American depositary receipts fell 1/2 to 28 3/8.

Grupo Televisa fell 7/8 to 16 5/8.

Grupo Tribasa fell 5/8 to 6 1/4.

The New York shares of Mexican companies fell in sympathy with Mexican stocks. The Mexican Bolsa’s IPC index lost more than 2 percent.

Tyco International rose 7/8 to 51 1/2.

The maker of fire protection systems priced a secondary offering of 8.7 million shares at $50.625 each.

Circuit City fell 1 3/8 to 22.

An analyst told CNN commentator Dan Dorfman on Thursday that the stock could move to $32 by year-end.

Philip Morris rose 1 1/4 to 60 3/4.

RJR Nabisco fell 1-16 to 5 9-16.

Some investors find tobacco stocks attractive, The Wall Street Journal reports.

NASDAQ

Systems Software rose 3 1/8 to 23 3/4.

The maker of business computer software said late Thursday that its first-quarter net revenues were 7 cents per share, up from 4 cent a year ago.

Borland rose 5/8 to 8 3/4.

Lotus fell 1 to 42 1/2.

Borland stock rose on talk that the company was close to settling a copyright lawsuit brought by Lotus.

Porter McLeod National Retail fell 8 1/4 to 2 1/8.

Mister Jay Fashions International fell 12 5/8 to 5 1/2.

Envirometrics fell 7 3/4 to 2 1/8.

All Pro Products fell 3 3/8 to 2 1/8.

The issues fell after their underwriter, Hanover Sterling, was suspended from market making by the NASD, which cited financial difficulties.

Brothers Gourmet rose 3 1/4 to 14 1/2.

The company said it had hired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities to help explore “strategic alternatives.”

AMEX

Champion Enterprises rose 3 5/8 to 32 1/2.

Montgomery Securities began coverage with a “buy” rating and set a price target of 42 within 12 months.