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Dow Rockets To Another Record

Associated Press

Stocks ended a volatile session at record closing highs as strength in consumer issues overrode weakened bonds and cyclical shares, those that are sensitive to swings in the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 18.31 points to close at 4,765.52, pushing the blue-chip index to a new high for the second consecutive session.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was robust at 380.42 million shares as of 4 p.m., up from 355.25 million on Tuesday. Advancers narrowly led decliners on the Big Board.

Consumer stocks battled cyclical shares all day for leadership, with consumer stocks such as Eastman Kodak and Procter & Gamble finally winning out.

Traders and analysts were hard-pressed to offer an explanation for the stocks’ gains on Wednesday. Some tied it to Friday’s triple expiration of options and futures, which often heightens volatility.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially Wednesday:

NYSE

IBM fell 2-7/8 to 94-5/8.

IBM said shipments of its new mainframes, popular because they rely on less expensive chips than previous designs, have been delayed by up to a month because a component supplier can’t keep up with demand. Analysts said the delay will result in $250 million in revenue that would have been booked in the third quarter being shifted to the fourth quarter instead.

Home Depot fell 5/8 to 39-7/8.

The stock extended Tuesday’s 3.25-percent decline. The company blamed a downgrade by Prudential Securities, which denied that it had downgraded the stock. In a meeting Monday and Tuesday with analysts, the Atlanta-based home improvement chain said it planned to open 90 to 95 stores in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 1997. A few months ago, Home Depot predicted opening about 100 stores in the next fiscal year.

PepsiCo rose 1-1/4 to 48-3/4.

The Atlanta-based soft drink maker is comfortable with analysts’ earnings estimates of around 76 cents a share for the third quarter, the company’s chairman and chief executive, Wayne Calloway, told Dow Jones News Services.

NASDAQ

Quantum rose 1-11/16 to 23-7/16.

CNBC correspondent Dan Dorfman said the stock will rise following a Montgomery Securities investment conference beginning Sunday. the Milpitas, Calif., company makes high-storage disk drives, Dorfman said.