Stocks' Modest Rally Halts Drifting Trend: Rail Merger Supplies Lift
Government approval or a long-pending railroad merger and other bullish corporate news, the stock market today made its first clear-cut advance in six sessions. Tradme was moderate.</br></br>The Rain was modest but it was cnouRh to put the Associated Press average of 60 stocks up to a new historic high. The Dow-Jones industrial average and Standard & PoorÛªs 500-stock index remained somewhat below their peaks.</br></br>The list was moving in trcndless fashion, with many leaders unchanged, when news came that the Interstate Commerce Com-mission had approved the merger of Atlantic Coast Line with Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Dp to that time, even the rails were doing nothing. The merger news brought them gains and there was a brief spurt of heavy buying.</br></br>Gams spread to steels, motors, oils, electronics, drugs and chemicals. Late in the afternoon, much of the advance wilted away but enough remained to put the market definitely on the upside.</br></br>The Dow-Jones industrial average made a moderate gain of 2.74 at 760.17. The Dow-Jones rails advanced .54 to 178.19, putting them at another high since 1956.