Dow Up 7 as Investors React Coolly to Rate Cut
Stocks eked out small gains today after a long-awaited cut in interest rates failed to convince investors that the Federal Reserve Board could get the economy firmly back on track.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.15 points to close at 3038.46. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was moderate at 167 million shares. Advancing issues outpaced decliners by a ratio of more than 8 to 7.</br></br>The Fed lowered the discount rate, which it charges member banks for short-term loans, to an 18-year low of 4.5 percent from 5 percent, hoping to breathe life into the economy.</br></br>The nation's commercial banks quickly followed by lowering their prime rate to 7.5 percent from 8 percent.</br></br>Investors were prepared for the discount-rate move, which was foreshadowed by last Friday's sluggish October payroll data and a series of other tepid economic reports. Any surprise was in the timing of the cut, said analysts.