Late Rally Gives Stocks a Boost; Dow Rises 6.29

NEW YORK —  A last-minute rally provided the stock market with a decisive gain in moderate trading Thursday.

The upturn lifted two of the market’s broader gauges--the New York Stock Exchange composite index and Standard & Poor’s 500-stock composite index--to record highs.

In addition, 140 issues listed on the NYSE climbed to 52-week highs.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 6.29 to 1,284.78, with half the improvement coming shortly before the closing bell. The blue-chip index is 14.58 points below its record peak of 1,299.36 reached March 1. The Dow Jones transportation average also rose, but its utility average lost a fraction.

Oil stocks were notable gainers throughout the session. Airline, retail, financial and computer issues also moved ahead.

Advances overall led declines eight to five on the NYSE, whose composite index climbed 0.55 to 106.15, eclipsing the previous high of 106.08 reached last Feb. 13.

Big Board volume swelled to 108.63 million shares from 99.60 million Wednesday.

Technical Upturn

Prices opened slightly lower but quickly reversed course and edged ahead by mid-session. But the market then showed little movement until the final hour.

Hildegarde Zagorski, associate vice president of Dean Witter Reynolds, said: “The market’s tone seems to be somewhat improved,” particularly since it was able to reverse its recent trend of advancing one day and then surrendering the gains in the next session.

But she asserted that Thursday’s upturn still was largely technical in nature and “not based on any change in the fundamentals, those being that the economy is sluggish, corporate profits are down and interest rates have not come down enough to stimulate an economic turnaround.”

Unocal again topped the NYSE’s active list and fell 1 1/2 to 46 1/8. Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens Jr., a hostile suitor, said his group would tender its shares under Unocal’s own buy-back plan, but Unocal said it would not accept the Pickens group’s stock.

Other oil stocks rose amid reports of an improved earnings outlook for the industry. Atlantic Richfield rose 1 3/4 to 53 3/4 after gaining 3 1/2 on Wednesday, Amerada Hess jumped 2 to 31 3/4, Kerr-McGee climbed 1 1/2 to 31 3/4 and Texaco rose 7/8 to 39 7/8 despite reporting flat first-quarter profits.

Storer Communications rose 2 7/8 to 77 3/4. The broadcaster, which faced a liquidation threat from dissident shareholders, agreed to merge with a new company to be formed by the investment banking firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Chrysler fell to 36 3/4 after posting lower first-quarter earnings, but General Motors gained 3/8 to 70 3/4 and Ford Motor rose 1/2 to 43 3/4.

Illinois Power lost to 24 1/2; a 727,300-share block crossed at 24.

Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 130.52 million shares.

Standard & Poor’s index of 400 industrials rose 1.20 to 203.87, and S&P;’s 500-stock composite index was up 1.17 to a record high 183.43.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market-value index rose 1.00 to 230.19.

The NASDAQ composite index for the over-the-counter market closed at 283.97, up 0.90.

Bond prices fell in light to moderate trading as interest rates edged higher.

Some analysts say the Fed has relaxed its credit policy in recent days, responding to evidence that the U.S. economy may be slowing.

But others say that the declines in interest rates earlier in the week were triggered by temporary phenomena such as tax refunds and that the federal government’s huge borrowing needs will continue to exert upward pressure on rates.

Long-term bond prices extended their decline late in the session after the Federal Reserve Board reported that the nation’s basic money supply dipped $300 million in mid-April. Yields on short-term Treasury bills, however, held steady in the wake of the report.