Dow Slips 38 Points, But Tech Shares Advance

Blue-chip stocks gave back some of last week’s record-setting gains, but technology stocks and small-company issues posted decent gains Monday in an otherwise uneventful session.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.29 to 8,110.84, ending a six-session winning streak that had put the blue-chip barometer in striking distance of its all-time best close of 8,259.31.

Broad-market indicators were mixed, with advancing issues outnumbering decliners by a small margin. Both the S&P 500 and New York Stock Exchange composite indexes slipped from record heights.

“The Dow is up 1,200 in the last six weeks, so we’re more than entitled to a little ‘R&R,”’ said Alfred E. Goldman of A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.

The blue-chip sector was also pressured by another weak day in the bond market, where interest rates rose for the third straight session after falling to a 22-month low last week.

Bonds were pressured by a supply of new Treasury securities from an afternoon auction and reports that Japan might sell some of its huge Treasury holdings to help its beleaguered banking system.

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

NYSE

Coca-Cola, down 2-1/2 at 63-9/16.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter lowered its 1998 earnings estimate for the Atlanta-based soft-drink maker, Dow Jones News Service reported. The investment firm cited unfavorable currency exchange rates.

Deposit Guaranty, up 4-5/8 at 57.

First American agreed to acquire the rival Southern bank for stock valued at about $64 a share, or $2.7 billion. Each share of Deposit Guaranty is to be swapped for 1.17 shares of First American.

NASDAQ

CMG Information Services, up 4-5/8 at 28-1/2.

Intel agreed to buy a 4.9 percent stake in CMG, a direct marketing firm that also invests in Internet companies. Terms were not disclosed, but the stake would currently be worth about $13.5 million on the open market.

MicroProse, down 2-3/8 at 2-5/16.

The publisher of interactive entertainment software terminated its merger agreement with GT Interactive Software and warned that it would post an unexpected loss for its third quarter ending Dec. 28.

AMEX

Andrea Electronics, up 2-1/8 at 21-3/16.

The audio communications company agreed to supply noise-control headsets to Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products for distribution with its speech-recognition software. Andrea is based in Long Island City, N.Y.