Dow Edges To Another Record High

The Dow Jones industrial average edged to a fourth straight record high, but Wall Street’s rally suffered a setback on Monday with a jump in interest rates and a sudden downturn by technology stocks.

The Dow, which on Friday closed above 8,500 for the first time, overcame a 35 point deficit and finished 4.73 higher at 8,550.45.

The Nasdaq composite index was yanked lower by an afternoon reversal in the technology group, which led the market’s return to record territory last month.

Overall, however, stocks withstood the heavy drag of the bond market, where long-term interest rates pushed above 6 percent after a widely watched report raised some uncertainty about the steady-growth, tameinflation scenario so instrumental in restoring investor confidence.

In the first broad reading on the just-ended month, an association of factory executives reported that growth in the nation’s manufacturing sector accelerated in February. Economists had predicted no change.

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

NYSE

Sunbeam, up 3-7/8 at 45-5/8.

Coleman, up 10-1/16 at 30-15/16.

First Alert (Nasdaq), up 2-1/16 at 5-5/32.

Signature Brands USA (Nasdaq), up 2-25/32 at 8-1/32.

Sunbeam is buying the makers of Coleman camping gear, First Alert smoke alarms and Mr. Coffee machines for about $2.4 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt. The deals are the latest move in a major restructuring that has slashed Sunbeam’s 12,000-employee work force in half.

Callaway Golf, down 3-9/16 at 28-3/4.

The Carlsbad, Calif.-based golf club maker warned that its first-quarter earnings may come in well below analyst estimates. Callaway said it was hurt by bad weather in many of its major markets and by the economic crisis in Asia.

PaineWebber Group, down 2-1/2 at 38-1/2.

The stock retreated after surging more than 17 percent on Friday amid speculation that the securities firm might be the next takeover target in that financial service industry.

NASDAQ

Scopus Technology, up 4-7/17 at 18-9/16.

Siebel Systems, down 5-7/8 at 55-5/8.

The providers of marketing and customer service information systems agreed to merge in a deal value at $460 million. Siebel is to issue 0.36405 of its stock in exchange for each share of Scopus.