Blue Chip Retreat Spurs Drop in Averages: Gains Outnumber Losses
NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (AP)ÛÓStock market averages wilted today as an assortment of blue chips fadedÛÓbut considerably more stocks advanced than declined in the over-nil list.</br></br>Trading was fairly active, with volume at 5.77 million shares compared with 4.94 million Friday when LincolnÛªs birthday caused semi-holiday conditions.</br></br>fn early trading the market was carrying through nicely on the Friday average which retrieved some of last weekÛªs sharp losses. Gains were trimmed gradually as the session wore on, however, and by the close the loss in some indicators was fairly sharp.</br></br>The Dow-Jones industrial averageÛÓwhich had been .ahead 4.40 at the end of the first hourÛÓclosed with a net loss of 3.15 at 885.32.</br></br>This steep decline of 7.25 from the top to the bottom was caused mainly by sharp losses in a few of the 30 components of the Dow industrials and fractional losses by several more.