Industrials Close 0.17 Point Higher After Erasing Losses of Morning
Stock prices recovered from an early morning bout of selling yesterday, but couldn't sustain a late afternoon rally and closed marginally higher.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a mere 0.17 to 1879.31, with advancing issues outnumbering declining stocks 791-729. Volume was moderate at 158.1 million shares, down from 181.7 million shares Wednesday.</br></br>Analysts said yesterday's performance was encouraging, in that it may mark a halt to the steady weakening of share prices. "We're getting near the levels where you might expect to see the downward selling pressure abate a bit," said Brian Luedtke, a technical analyst at Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood Inc.</br></br>Mr. Luedtke said that even when stock prices were lower in the morning, it was the first time this week that technology stocks began turning upward before the broader market. Technology issues were the focal point of much the selling pressure early this week, as analysts and investors were disappointed by some of the industry's fourth-quarter results, especially International Business Machines' performance.</br></br>Fredric Russell, who owns a money-management firm in Tulsa, Okla., said that while stock prices "might not be in bargain territory, there is so much discouragement that it gives the serious investor some real opportunities." He said the nearly flat performance of the Dow Jones industrials yesterday indicates that some of those investors are taking advantage of the lower prices for many stocks.