Dow Recoups Early Loss, Edges Up

Blue-chip stocks crept to record gains on Thursday despite widespread profit-taking. Computer-related stocks continued to show strength, pushing some broad indexes to record highs as well.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.19 at 4,727.48, barely topping its record high close of 4,727.29 made just the day before. The blue-chip index spent most of the day in the dumps before rallying gently at the end of the session.

Declining issues edged out advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 387.47 million shares as of 4 p.m., compared with 412.22 million on Wednesday.

Computer-related issues posted new gains, extending a months-long run. The higher they go, the more cautious the commentary from Wall Street professionals.

“The greatest returns have already been achieved in 1995” in technology stocks, said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. “We’re pretty wary of the group.”

Still, on Thursday there was little sentiment to fight the tape.

Some of the stocks moving substantially or trading heavily Thursday:

NYSE

Philip Morris fell 1-3/8 to 75-3/4.

Loew’s Corp., down 1-1/2 at 122-7/8.

UST Inc., down 5/8 at 27-7/8.

RJR Nabisco Holdings, down 3/8 at 27-5/8.

B.A.T. Industries’ American depositary receipts, down 1-16 at 15 11/16.

The Food and Drug Administration may move to regulate the sale of cigarettes to minors, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Motorola fell 5/8 to 75.

The stock surged 5-1/8 points on Wednesday after the computer and cellular phone company reported a 31-percent rise in second-quarter net earnings.

First Chicago Corp. rose 2-1/8 to 63-5/8.

The stock was up for the second day in a row after the announcement of the bank’s merger with NBD Bancorp.

NASDAQ

Nextel fell 7/8 to 19-1/4.

Comcast agreed to sell its 11.27 million common shares of Nextel for $18.875 per share, to Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley for resale to the public. Comcast said it remains optimistic about Nextel’s prospects and continues to hold options to purchase 25 million Nextel shares.

AMEX

Psychemed rose 2 13-16 to 9.

The company unveiled a drug-testing service that can test a home sample of hair for drug use.