Blue-Chip Stocks Lead Market Rebound

Blue-chip stocks bolted into record territory Monday on a late burst of computer-driven trading, but the wider market struggled higher as investors sought to minimize risks.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped past 5,200 for the first time since mid-December, rising 34.68 to close at 5,219.36. The previous record closing of 5,216.47 was set Dec. 13.

Most broad-market indexes were only slightly higher, although the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced solidly, gaining 10.99 to close at 1,029.44 as that depressed sector continued to firm its footing.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a slim margin of about 10 to 9 on the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE volume totaled 396 million shares as of 4 p.m., down from Friday’s heavy pace of 496.96 million.

However, broader market indexes did not match the Dow’s gains, indicating a no-confidence vote for the market, said Brian Belski, technical analyst at Dain Bosworth Inc. in Minneapolis.

“The market is once again being led by a narrowing list of issues,” he said.

Some of the stocks that traded heavily or moved substantially:

NYSE

Woolworth, up 1-1/8 to 11

The retailer disclosed an investor proposal to spinoff the company’s successful athletic footwear and apparel division, which includes the Foot Locker and Lady Footlocker chains, to shareholders.

Boeing, up 3/4 to 79-1/8

General Electric’s aircraft leasing unit plans to buy more than $4 billion worth of airplanes from Boeing, including five of its newly introduced 777 twin-engine jets.

Chrysler, up 3-5/8 to 57-3/4

An article in The Wall Street Journal said Chrysler’s smaller-than-expected decline in fourth-quarter earnings could mean a strong 1996 despite a weak U.S. auto market. The automaker was also mentioned favorably in a Barron’s article.

First Interstate Bancorp, 4-7/8 to 143-3/4

First Bank Systems, up 1-1/2 to 50

Wells Fargo, up 5-1/2 to 222-3/4

The Federal Reserve opened hearings on the competing offers for First Interstate Bancorp by Wells Fargo and First Bank Systems.

NASDAQ

Netscape, up 16-3/8 to 161.

The company’s gateway software, which can put merchants on the Internet’s World Wide Web, will be bundled with VeriFone’s credit-card processing technology.

Cordis, up 7-13/16 to 107-9/16.

Johnson & Johnson said it will move ahead with its proposed $1.8 billion takeover of Cordis, a Miami-based maker of medical devices, in a stock swap valued at $109 a share.