Industrial Index Backtracks by 7.17, Led by Merck's 4 5/8-Point Decline
Again following the lead of the bond market, the stock market yesterday finished moderately lower after failing to extend its late blue-chip rally from Monday. Trading continued at a relatively slow pace.</br></br>Technology, oil and some of the chemical issues were among the casualties. Some of the housing stocks gained.</br></br>After jumping 11.48 points on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average backtracked 4.63 points in yesterday's first half hour, but erased this loss in the next hour; falling again during the afternoon, the index was down 8.50 points at 3:30 p.m. EDT and then closed at 1126.88, off 7.17 points. The transportation indicator also fell, but the utility average posted a small rise.</br></br>The downturn was less apparent in the broader market than in the industrial average. New York Stock Exchange losers led gainers by only about 7-to-6. A big part of the industrial average's setback was accounted for by Merck, which skidded 4 5/8 to 86 1/8 in active trading.</br></br>"The psychology of the market is dominated by interest rates, as illustrated by the sharp rally on Monday when bond prices rose and the lack of follow-through (yesterday) when the bond market faltered," commented Michael T. Murray, vice president of Loomis Sayles, Chicago.