Dow Slips As Investors Take Profits

Stocks settled for a so-so session Tuesday as investors booked profits while awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Blue chips lagged and the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 3.12 points below the peak reached Monday to 4,550.56.

On the Big Board, losers nosed out gainers by about 6 to 5. Volume came to 381.25 million shares on the NYSE floor as of 4 p.m. Eastern time, compared to 322.62 million Monday.

Market analysts said stocks paused after their record-setting advance as investors opted to sell and collect some of the profits accumulated recently. The selling wasn’t regarded as the start of a major downtrend and didn’t reflect any fundamental shift in attitudes toward equities.

A humdrum session for bonds offered nothing to inspire stocks. Treasury notes and bonds made minor moves with the key 30-year Treasury bond off about 3/8 point in late trading, raising its yield to 6.59 percent from 6.56 percent Monday.

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

NYSE

Philip Morris, up 1/4 to 74 3/4.

The stock was in the spotlight as the food and tobacco conglomerate issued new information on its $100 million recall of cigarettes. The tainted cigarettes that prompted the recall couldn’t have made smokers sick but were only smelly and badtasting.

Citicorp, up 1 5/8 to 58 3/4.

The bank holding company’s board authorized the repurchase of up to $3 billion common or convertible preferred stock over the next 24 months.

Walt Disney, down 1/8 to 58 1/4.

The stock attracted attention as the company unveiled plans for a fourth theme park, Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom, featuring wild animals in a setting twice the size of Epcot Center.

NASDAQ

Apple Computer, up 3 to 47 3/8.

The investment rating on the computer maker’s stock was raised to “buy” from “outperform” by Smith Barney.

Intel, up 2 3/4 to 65.

Technology stocks continued to attract investors with computer and related issues on the actives lists of all the major markets. Also heavily trading on the Nasdaq were Dell Computer, up 3 13/16 to 56 11/16, and Microsoft, up 1 9/16 to 91 3/8.

AMEX

Fibreboard, up 4 to 26 1/4.

The company signed a letter of intent to sell its wood products business for between $240 million and $250 million to Sierra Pacific Industries.