Technology Gains Add Up For Dow
Booming technology shares boosted the stock market Monday and handed Wall Street another record-setting session.
Merger news involving big name companies plus several favorably received corporate profit reports also stoked buying interest in stocks and offset the negative impact of a depressed bond market.
The Dow Jones industrial average overcame initial weakness in notching another all-time high. It climbled 27.47 to 4,736.29, surpassing the prior peak of 4,727.48 reached Thursday.
The Nasdaq Stock Market, where numerous technology stocks are listed, benefited from strength in shares of semiconductor, software, computer and related companies.
Nasdaq’s composite index swept past a bull-market milepost to close above 1,000 for the first time. Most other popular indicators also established highs.
In reviewing recent earnings reports, stockholders have been pleased that the computer industry appears to have enjoyed a healthy spring and early summer, a time when performance usually lags.
Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily:
NYSE
Kimberly-Clark, up 4-7/8 to 63-1/2.
Investors welcomed news that Kimberly-Clark has agreed to acquire Scott Paper for stock valued at about $6.8 billion. Scott Paper fell 2-3/4 to 46-3/8 and was the most heavily traded NYSE issue. Analysts said investors had been hoping for a higher price for Scott.
International Business Machines, up 3-3/8 to 107-1/4.
Computer and related stocks continued an extended rally amid optimism about the industry’s outlook. Other technology issues with gains included Micron Technology, up 3/8 to 63-3/8; Motorola, up 1-7/8 to 77-5/8; and Compaq, up 1-1/4 to 49-3/4.
Philip Morris, up 1-1/4 to 76.
The stock was in the spotlight after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has put its bakery division up for sale for more than $1 billion.
NASDAQ
Microsoft, up 4-3/8 to 108.
The software maker released its Windows 95 to mass production and repeated that the version will be in retail stores by Aug. 24. After the market closed, Microsoft released earnings that generally met expectations.
Quantum, down 2-5/8 to 23.
The maker of computer disk drives issued a gloomy preview of its quarterly performance, saying its fiscal first quarter revenues and income will be below analysts’ forecasts.