Dow Edges Higher In Lazy Session

Blue-chip stocks edged higher Tuesday, ending a three-session slump, but the broad market finished mostly lower after drifting through a lazy holiday session.

The Dow Jones industrial average surrendered an early gain for the second straight day, but turned higher during the final hour and rose 6.14 to 7,558.73.

With the Treasury bond market closed for Veterans Day and a Federal Reserve meeting looming today, there was little conviction behind the stock market’s moves in either direction.

While Fed officials might be tempted to raise interest rates to slow the economy and ease inflationary pressures in this country, such a move is seen as unlikely because it could fuel another wave of global financial turmoil by draining more investment capital from foreign markets.

While Asian markets were largely calm again Tuesday, worries about the unresolved situation overseas continued to plague U.S. stocks.

“The market looks like it’s moved into a trading range as it digests the Asian crisis and Latin American crisis,” said Barry Hyman, senior equity analyst at Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a slim 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled just 434.60 million shares as of 4 p.m., down from Monday’s sluggish tally of 463.43 million.

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

NYSE

Eastman Kodak, down 4-1/16 at 62-3/16.

The photo-imaging company plans to eliminate 10,000 jobs, or 10.5 percent of its work force, as part of a restructuring effort aimed at cutting costs by at least $1 billion.

Caterpillar, down 2 at 48-3/16.

CIBC Oppenheimer downgraded Caterpillar to “underperform” from “hold,” citing discussions with Brazilian equipment dealers that indicated slower Latin American sales, the Dow Jones News Service reported.

Pennzoil, down 7-3/4 at 67-3/4.

Union Pacific Resources Group threatened to withdraw its $84-a-share cash offer for Pennzoil on Nov. 17, alleging that Pennzoil’s value has eroded sharply with its failure to find crude oil at a project in the Caspian Sea.

NASDAQ

Cardima, up 2-5/16 at 5-1/16.

The FDA cleared Cardima to market its Revelation endocardial microcatheter for the diagnosis of atrial cardiac arrhythmias.

Unison Healthcare, down 5/8 at 2-1/8.

The health care facilities operator said it missed a debt payment and is considering a financial restructuring.