Profit-Taking Cuts Gains
Steels and oils paced the advance which , was healthy enough to survive some ruth-s less profit-taking in the last half hour. Piv-s, otal stocks wound up with gains and losses j' running from fractions to around a point Û¢ ' or so. Some wide moves were made by !i specialties during the day but most of these I faded by the close.</br></br>j The session began with a rush. The high-J speed ticker tape fell behind in reporting i transactions but only for two minutes. Then ! trading progressed at a brisk pace until Ûª around mid-session. As the pace slowed, f prices were trimmed below their best.</br></br>Ji Not until the last half hour did the typical i pre-weekend caution have its innings as traders lightened their commitments and r some good gains were erased, i Encouraging reports on a number of in-dustries were made public at the meeting i| of the National Industrial Conference Board.</br></br>in the Middle East and again by their good earnings and fine prospects. Rising store sales and improved outlook for the appliance industry also bolstered investor sentiment.</br></br>The Associated Press average of 60 stocks rose 30 cents to $184.90, the second new high in as many sessions. The industrial compo-! nent was up 40 cents to a new 1957 high, the rails were unchanged and the utilities rose 20 cents to still another new high foe this group. Volume totaled 2,510,000 shares compared with 2,690,000 yesterday. Of the 15 most active stocks, 11 rose, 2 fell and 2 were unchanged.