Inactive Market Watches Treasuries

The stock market closed with little to show for itself Tuesday as an eagerly anticipated government financing operation got off to a disappointing start.

The Dow Jones industrial average was unchanged at 4,693.32 while broader indicators made minor moves.

Losers led the New York Stock Exchange’s closing tally, outnumbering gainers by about 150 issues.

Volume on the Big Board’s floor amounted to 305.16 million shares as of 4 p.m. Eastern time, up from 276.04 million Monday.

After sticking close to its starting point, Wall Street turned down in the afternoon when the Treasury released results of its three-year note auction, which failed to satisfy expectations of keen foreign demand.

Ricky Harrington, senior vice president and technical analyst at Interstate/Johnson Lane, said anxiety ahead of the remaining two Treasury debt sales Wednesday and Thursday prevented Wall Street from mustering a meaningful advance.

“The market has been very dull for the last week or so in anticipation of this refunding,” he said. “We’ve reached an equilibrium and have been meandering within a tight trading range.”

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily:

NYSE

Crown American Realty Trust, down 3-1/4 to 9-1/4.

The stock sank after the REIT reported disappointing secondquarter funds from operations and a big dividend cut.

Limited, down 1 to 19-1/4.

The stock was in the spotlight after the retailer reported its quarterly results. The Limited earned $48.8 million, compared with $53.8 million a year ago.

May Department Stores, up 1/2 to 43-3/8.

May Department Stores emerged victorious in a bankruptcy court brawl for the Woodward & Lothrup and John Wanamaker chains, two of the oldest names in retailing.

NASDAQ

Railtex, down 7-3/4 to 21-1/2.

The stock’s investment rating was lowered to “neutral” from “outperform” by Morgan Stanley and downgraded by other brokerages a day after the company posted second-quarter operating income of 22 cents a share, down from 26 cents a year earlier.

General Nutrition, up 2-1/8 to 39-1/2.

The marketer of vitamins and mineral supplements reported sharply improved earnings of 37 cents a share in the second quarter, up from 5 cents a share a year earlier.