Dow Posts Gain, But Investors Remain Wary

Investors rummaged for more bargains Tuesday, extending a modest rebound from the market’s recent sell-off even though bonds stumbled again amid uncertainty about inflation and interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average traded at a slight loss for much of the session before rallying over the final half hour, rising 53.25 to 6,609.16. In the past three sessions, the barometer of 30 big U.S. companies has recouped about 130 of the 400 points it tumbled over the previous five.

Broad-market indicators also finished with modest gains for the third straight session, led again by the battered technology sector.

Even so, analysts remained mostly unimpressed by the market’s attempt to rebound from a steep drop that has sliced as much as 8 percent off the Dow and the Standard & Poor’s 500 list.

“The buying seems to be going on without a whole lot of conviction behind it because there’s that fear in the back of everyone’s mind that interest rates might kick up again,” said Thom Brown, market strategist for Rutherford, Brown & Catherwood of Philadelphia, noting the continuing jitters in the bond market, where yields hit a seven-month high last week.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 6-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 448.92 million shares as of 4 p.m., about even with Monday’s modest pace.

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

NYSE

Motorola, down 1-5/8 at 59-1/2.

The company reported a 15 percent drop in first-quarter profits amid a 5 percent drop in sales, but the results were stronger than expected.

Advanced Micro Devices, up 3/8 at 43-3/8.

The semiconductor maker unexpectedly reported a profit for the first quarter. AMD, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said its sales growth was 11 percent higher in the first quarter than during the final quarter of 1996.

Breed Technologies, up 1-3/8 at 20-1/4.

The auto parts concern entered a supply agreement with General Motors to deliver steering wheels for a future GM program.

JLG Industries, down 5-3/4 at 13-5/8.

The maker of aerial work platforms expects to report disappointing results for the first half of this year.

Sensormatic Electronics, down 1 at 16-1/2.

The maker of shoplifting detection devices and other electronic security systems expects to report disappointing third-quarter results.

NASDAQ

Viking Office Products, down 5-1/2 at 14-1/2.

The office products supplier cautioned that its results for its third quarter ended March 31 were pressured by fewer billing days, slower growth in Britain and France, a stronger dollar, and paper pricing about 30 percent below year-ago levels.