Dow Climbs 10.37 To Record High

Stocks climbed to record highs on Thursday, following the bond market’s path, as investor fears of inflation were soothed by an unexpectedly weak government report on March retail sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 10.37 at 4,208.18, breaking its 4,205.41 record high set on April 6.

Advancing issues led decliners by about 7 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderately heavy at 301.51 million shares as of 4 p.m., down from 327.83 million on Wednesday. That was a bit of a surprise ahead of the long holiday weekend. The financial markets will be closed today in observance of Good Friday.

Stocks headed higher early in the session along with bonds, after the Commerce Department said retail sales rose a moderate 0.2 percent in March.

Analysts expected a modest recovery for sales last month and said their slower pace signals an overall slowdown in the economy.

Overseas stock markets were mixed. The Nikkei index in Tokyo firmed 0.6 percent, but Frankfurt’s DAX index was down 0.1 percent, and the FT-SE 100 index in London was slightly softer.

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

NYSE

Chrysler fell 7/8 to 47 7/8.

The stock surged 9 1/2 points on Wednesday after Kirk Kerkorian announced a surprise takeover bid for the company at $55 per share. Thursday, the automaker reported profits for January-through-March of $592 million, or $1.59 per share, on revenue of $13.6 billion, vs. $938 million, or $2.55 a share, on revenue of $13.2 billion in 1994.

Ford fell 1/2 to 27 1/8.

The carmaker boosted its quarterly dividend by 5 cents per share to 31 cents on its Class B and common stocks, saying the increase “reflects our continued strong financial results (and) confidence in the future.”

Woolworth fell 2 to 16 1/2.

The discount retailer eliminated its 15-cent quarterly cash dividend on common shares late Wednesday and said it would lower capital expenditures in 1995 to $163 million from $218 million in 1994.

NASDAQ

Intel rose 3 1/4 to 95.

Analysts expect the semiconductor maker to report strong first-quarter earnings on Monday.

AMEX

Ivax fell 1 1/4 to 24 3/4.

Smith Barney downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “out-perform.”