Stocks Keep Investors In The Christmas Spirit

The Dow Jones industrial average set a record for the fourth straight session Monday.

The Dow industrials gained 22.04 points to 5,070.88. It was the 63rd record close for this year for the stock market’s best-known indicator.

The NYSE’s composite index and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index also finished at all-time highs.

“It’s been Christmas almost every day in the market,” said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at Fahnestock & Co. in New York.

“Some of the interest-rate-sensitive stocks helped this market,” said Hugh Johnson, senior vice president at First Albany Corp. in Albany, N.Y.

Advancing issues led decliners by 11 to 9 on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume totaled 356.18 million shares as of 4 p.m., vs. 125.38 million last Friday.

The National Association of Realtors reported sales of previously owned homes dropped 1.9 percent in October, the first decline in six months despite falling mortgage rates.

“The slight drop in existing home sales made many investors believe there is further reason for Fed to cut interest rates,” Ackerman said.

Some of the stocks moving substantially or trading heavily:

NYSE

FedEx, down 1/4 at 77-3/4.

FedEx pilots are turning down overtime in a holiday-season dispute with management, and on Monday they accused the cargo airline of trying to undercut their job security.

Walt Disney, up 3/8 at 62-7/8.

“Toy Story,” Disney’s computer-animated tale of feuding playthings, grabbed the No. 1 spot at the box office in its debut over the holiday weekend. The film earned an estimated $38 million in ticket sales from Wednesday through Sunday, industry sources said.

PP&L Resources, down 7/8 at 25.

Dean Witter Reynolds downgraded the utility from “accumulate” to “neutral.” On Friday, PP&L Resources replaced CBS Inc. in the S&P 500 index.

Home Shopping Network, up 1/4 at 9-3/4.

Barry Diller, the former Fox television chief who has been looking for a top post in the entertainment business, was named chairman of Home Shopping Network, the cable shopping pioneer.

NASDAQ

First Alert, down 5-1/8 at 8-1/2.

The Aurora, Ill.-based maker of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors said it expects sales for the year ending Dec. 31 to be flat compared with last year’s sales of about $248 million.

ACT Networks, up 1-1/2 at 9.

The Camarillo, Calif-based maker of computer network access products said it has agreed to buy privately held Montreal-based Presticom Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $8.7 million. scheduled to close within the next 30 days.