Dow Off 5; NYSE Breaks Trading Volume Record
NEW YORK, Dec, 15ÛÓStocks fell today as a record for trading volume that had stood since the day after the 1987 stock market crash was toppled on the New York Stock Exchange.</br></br>; The unprecedented volume was tied to the so-called "triple-witchingÛ expiration of stock options and futures, and to continued selling of technology issues as investors cashed in on the big gains ol the year.</br></br>' The Dow Jones industrial average traded in a harrow range all day before closing the day down 5.42 points at 5176.73. Despite the minor retreat today, the blue-chip average still gained 19.87 points for the week.</br></br>ÐÊ Volume on the NYSE was the heaviest in history at 653.16 million shares, topping the 608.15 million that changed hands on Oct. 20, 1987, the day after the 1987 Black Monday qrash. The exchange said its trading systems hud capacity to spare even in the peak periods if the day.</br></br>' Treasury bond prices ended mixed in quiet trading following a breakdown in federal budget negotiations and mounting uncertainty over (jit Federal Reserve's next decision on interest rates. The price of the TreasuryÛªs main 30-ycar bond slipped 5-32 point, or $1.56 per 1,000 in face value. Its yield, which moves in le opposition direction, rose to 6.09 percent from 6.08 percent late Thursday.