Dow Jones Industrials Close In On 6,000 Mark

The Dow Jones industrial average pushed closer to 6,000 Wednesday as stocks advanced broadly, led by technology shares, with interest rates dipping further in the bond market.

The Dow rose 29.07 to 5,933.97, extending its dramatic rebound to more than 750 points, or 14.5 percent, from the depths of July’s bruising selloff. Less than a year after breaking past the 5,000-mark, the blue-chip barometer is just 1 percent shy of 6,000.

Broader measures also advanced to new highs in what shaped up as the broadest rally in two weeks.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock list closed at a new high for the third straight session, and the New York Stock Exchange composite index notched its fifth consecutive record.

The Nasdaq market, which has lagged the market’s rebound, enjoyed a bigger advance as several technology bellwethers sprang back to life after several sessions of profit-taking. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.60 to 1,236.11, its best finish since its record high at 1,249.15 on June 5.

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

NYSE

Toys R Us, up 2-5/8 at 31-1/2.

Baby Superstore (Nasdaq), up 5 at 24-7/8

Toys R Us, based in Paramus, N.J., said it will acquire struggling Baby Superstore for $376 million in stock. Each Baby Superstore share will be swapped for 0.8121 of a Toys R Us share, though Jack Tate, Baby Superstore’s founder and the holder of 46.8 percent of the company’s stock, will receive 0.515 Toys R Us share for each share that he holds.

Foundation Health, up 2 at 36.

Health Systems, down 1/2 at 28-1/4.

The big California-based HMOs announced plans to merge Tuesday. Health Systems shareholders will swap each of their shares for one share of the merged company. Foundation shareholders will get 1.3 shares of the merged company for every share they own. The deal values Health Systems at about $1.4 billion, and Foundation at about $2.2 billion.

NASDAQ

Summit Medical Systems, down 5-3/4 at 7.

The Minneapolis maker of software for healthcare providers announced that its results for the second half of the year would fall shy of expectations. Third-quarter sales were weak because of a product transition.

Intelligent Medical Imaging, down 6-3/4 at 7-1/2.

The Florida-based microscope maker said it will terminate its deal with Coulter Corp. because Coulter did not meet minimum purchase requirements under the distribution agreement. Intelligent Medical said it will not realize any product sales for the third quarter, and possibly the fourth. It said 1996 results will not meet expectations.