Late Buying Propels Dow To A Record High

The Dow Jones industrials advanced to record highs Friday for the second straight day, defying a dip in bond prices that followed a mixed employment report.

The Dow Jones industrial average spent most of the session in barely positive territory. But a burst of buying near the close propelled it 16.98 points higher to close at 4,825.57, topping the high of 4,808.59 set Thursday.

The blue-chip index rose 83.82 for the week, more than recovering its 52-point drop last week.

Advancing issues had a nearly 2-to-1 lead on decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate at 344.36 million shares as of 4 p.m., compared with 396.15 million Thursday.

Stocks rose even as the 30-year Treasury bond dipped 1/4 point, following a Labor Department report that the nation’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.5 percent in October, the lowest level in seven months.

But October payroll jobs increased by 116,000, below expectations, and the government revised sharply downward its September estimate. Average hourly earnings rose six cents in October to $11.59.

Analysts said the mixed employment figures did nothing to change their view that economic activity is slowing after a summer spurt.

“A weakish report was more or less expected,” said James Solloway, research director at Argus Research. “It wasn’t the kind of report that really elicits much inspiration.”

Some of the stocks that moved substantially Friday:

NYSE

Tandy fell 1-1/8 to 44-5/8.

The computer maker said October sales at stores open at least a year rose 1 percent. Total sales rose 25 percent.

EMC Corp. rose 2 to 18-1/2.

The company said AT&T and Hewlett-Packard will sell EMC’s Symmetrix 3000 open storage system. EMC also said it expects more than $250 million in 1996 revenues from the agreement.

Brinker International rose 1-1/4 to 14-1/8.

Everen Securities upgraded the stock to “longterm buy” from “market performer,” saying the stock was cheap and the company is focusing on higher-growth areas of the restaurant business. On Thursday, Brinker said it will sell its Grady’s American Grill and Spageddies Italian Kitchen concepts to Quality Dining Inc.

Silicon Graphics rose 4 to 36-1/4.

First Chicago started coverage with a “buy” rating and a price target of 50, saying the emerging multimedia and leading-edge technologies markets should support growth of 40 percent over the next 18 months.

NASDAQ

Boston Chicken fell 1 to 32-1/8.

The Golden, Colo., restaurant company said it will sell 7 million common shares, using the proceeds to develop stores and for general corporate purposes. The news knocked its shares 6 percent lower.

Applied Materials rose 2-3/4 to 55-3/8.

Prudential Securities began coverage of the stock with a “buy” rating.

AMEX

Cablevision preferred rose 1/8 to 26-3/8.

On Thursday, the company agreed to sell $300 million of convertible preferred stock at $25 per share.