Investor Jitters Drive Dow Lower

Stock prices eased on Wednesday amid uncertainty about interest rates, but the losses were kept minimal as investment managers added high-performing equities to their portfolios before the end of the quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 3.46 to close at 4,547.10, after trading within a narrow 17-point band throughout the day. Over the past two sessions, the blue chip average has lost 6.58 points, barely making a dent in the 42-point rise to a record high of 4,553.68 on Monday.

Advancing issues were nearly neckand-neck with decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. Big-Board volume was heavy at 398.21 million shares as of 4 p.m., up from 381.25 million on Tuesday.

Investors responded to a Tuesday evening speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who said the nation’s economic growth is slowing and the economy may be slipping into recession. Greenspan stopped short of saying he would cut interest rates, which is what many stock and bond investors hope he will do.

The bond market took Greenspan’s comments as a clue that the economy is slowing enough that interest rates will come down naturally, whether the Fed eases or not.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially Wednesday:

NYSE

Quaker Oats fell 1 3/8 to 33 3/8.

The company said sales of its Snapple drink are below expectations and will hurt 1995 results. Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the stock to “underperform” from “market perform.”

Atlantic Richfield fell 1 1/2 to 112 3/8.

Amoco fell 1 to 66 3/4.

Chevron fell 5/8 to 46 3/4.

Exxon fell 7/8 to 69 1/4.

Mobil fell 1 5/8 to 96 5/8.

Bear Stearns recommended that investors lighten up on oil stocks, changing its allocation recommendation to “market weight” from “overweight.”

Micron Technology fell 3 to 54 3/4.

IBM fell 5/8 to 97 1/8.

Advanced Micro Devices fell 1 1/8 to 35 3/8.

Investors sold technology stocks to book profits, after they had logged impressive gains over the last several weeks.

NASDAQ

Intel fell 57-64 to 64 7-64.

Novell fell 3/8 to 20.

Microsoft fell 1/2 to 90 7/8.

Lotus Development fell 3-16 to 62 3/4.

Investors sold technology stocks to book profits.

AMEX

Datametrics rose 1/2 to 9 3/8.

The company, which makes computer peripherals, issued two million common shares at $8 apiece.