Better Earnings Lure Investors Back

Stocks rose Thursday, further pulling out of a steep slump, as the corporate earnings picture brightened and bond prices advanced.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 29.63 points to 4,764.88, back to last week’s closing levels. The blue chip index had lost 42 points on Monday, did a dizzying 66 point drop on Tuesday morning, but worked laboriously higher beginning Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday.

Advancing issues led decliners by about 11 to 6 on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume was moderately heavy at 343.95 million shares, up from 340.72 million on Wednesday.

The market’s advance was led by technology shares, which pushed broad market indexes higher. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.06 to 1,015.63.

Investors, expecting the worst from third-quarter earnings reports, had bid stocks sharply lower earlier in the week. But the earnings picture is “coming out right about where it was anticipated, maybe a tiny bit better,” said Don Hays, director of investment strategy at Wheat First Butcher Singer in Richmond, Va.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially:

NYSE

Texas Instruments rose 7/8 to 74-1/8.

Third-quarter profits rose more than 55 percent, boosted by better semiconductor operating performance and higher royalties. For the period ending Sept. 30, TI had profits $1.48 per share after a two-for-one stock split. That was higher than analysts expected and up from 97 cents last year.

Ford Motor rose 1-7/8 to 31-7/8.

General Motors rose 1-5/8 to 46-7/8.

Chrysler rose 1-3/4 to 54-1/2.

Ford increased the quarterly dividend on its Class B and common stock by 13 percent to 35 cents a share from 31 cents. On Wednesday, Chrysler reported third-quarter earnings that were a bit higher than some analysts had expected.

Dayton Hudson rose 3-1/8 to 75-3/8.

Piper Jaffray upgraded the department store’s stock to “strong buy” from “market perform.”

Boise Cascade fell 5/8 to 37-3/4.

The forest products company said its earnings surged up to $1.83 a share in the third quarter.

NASDAQ

Intel rose 7/8 to 63-3/4.

Novell rose 3/8 to 15-1/8.

Microsoft rose 1 to 87-5/8.

Sun Microsystems rose 1-1/2 to 57-1/4.

Technology stocks advanced.

AMEX

Griffin Gaming rose 1-1/2 to 12-5/8.

C.J. Lawrence started covering the company with a “buy” rating.