Stocks Falter In A Mid-Day Run At New Highs

Stocks and bonds broke through some key barriers Thursday, but quickly gave back most of the day’s gains as investors decided against acting too aggressively before a report as unpredictable as Friday’s employment data.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 18.15 to 8,050.16 to notch its fifth winning session in a row, but only with the help of a big gain from Merck and only after surrendering an 81-point gain and dipping into negative territory.

Broad-market indicators finished mixed after retreating from sizable gains that briefly put the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index in record territory for the first time since a few weeks before late October’s bruising selloff.

The rally faded as the Treasury market faltered in its own flirtation with a psychological barrier.

Bonds, which have lost much of their momentum after rallying amid the recent turmoil on world equity markets, rose high enough Thursday morning to push the yield on the 30-year Treasury as low as 5.99 percent.

“People thought better of being too bullish ahead of what’s traditionally been the most volatile day of the month,” said Ronald J. Hill, investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., noting that Federal Reserve officials will meet again in less than two weeks to consider whether inflationary pressures have grown too severe.

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

NYSE

Merck, up 6-5/8 at 104-5/8.

A day after the drugmaker’s upbeat meeting with analysts eased concerns about competition and future earnings, the stock was upgraded by Merrill Lynch, the same firm that recently sent Merck’s shares sliding with a downgrade.

Singer, up 1-63/64 at 13-19/64.

The sewing machine maker announced plans to cut costs by eliminating nearly 6,000 jobs and closing an undisclosed number of plants and retail outlets. Singer also said it has recruited Stephen H. Goodman, a former Singer executive who has more recently worked for Bankers Trust, as its new CEO.

NASDAQ

ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical, up 1/4 at 2-1/8.

The Food and Drug Administration cleared ImmuLogic to conduct clinical trials with a proposed cocaine vaccine. ImmuLogic, based in Waltham, Mass., had previously received a $2.2M grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop the vaccine for the treatment of cocaine addiction.

AMEX

Courtaulds, up 5/8 at 5-1/8.

The British chemical-maker rose amid rumors it’s a takeover target, the Dow Jones News Service reported.