Dow Off 1.82 as Other Market Indicators Rise

NEW YORK —  Stocks posted a modest overall gain in active trading Tuesday despite a small decline in the Dow Jones industrial index.

The Dow industrials, up 62 points over the six previous sessions, slipped 1.82 to 1,892.44. Earlier in the session, the measure was down more than 13 points.

Gainers overall outpaced losers by four to three on the New York Stock Exchange.

The NYSE composite index also edged up 0.23 to 141.60. Big Board volume swelled to 163.24 million shares from 138.22 million on Monday.

Prices opened with scattered losses and then moved within a narrow range for much of the day, indicating that the market’s recent advance was faltering.

Traders attributed the downturn to morning profit taking and speculation that the first part of the Treasury’s $29-billion quarterly refunding program, a sale of three-year notes, was being poorly received by investors.

Weak demand for the securities could force the Treasury to mark up yields in order to sell them, thus creating additional upward pressure on interest rates in general.

But the speculation changed by the afternoon, with the market sensing that the Treasury’s auction was meeting favorable demand, which in turn helped lift stock and bond prices, said Jack Baker, head of equity block trading at Shearson Lehman Bros.

Bond Prices Slightly Higher

In the secondary market for Treasury bonds, prices of short-term governments were unchanged, intermediate maturities were up about point and long-term issues were up about 3/8 point, according to the investment firm of Salomon Bros.

The Treasury will complete its refinancing operation with sales of 10-year notes today and 30-year bonds on Thursday.

There also were suggestions that Tuesday’s congressional elections weighed on stock prices. Wall Street is waiting to see whether the elections significantly change the makeup of Congress and what effect that might have on taxes, the federal deficit and other economic matters.

There also is uneasiness over the strength of the market’s recent improvement, with some analysts attributing it largely to gains by stocks involved in takeover situations. Those stocks could be masking weakness in the broader market, they said.

But it was the broader market that kept ahead of the blue-chip issues Tuesday. At the American Stock Exchange, the market-value index gained 0.66 to 266.62.

Still, actual or suspected takeover targets continued to pepper the NYSE’s active list.

Goodyear rose 1/8 to 48 3/8, Gillette jumped 4 3/8 to 52 1/2, E. F. Hutton gained 2 1/8 to 53 5/8 and CPC International was up 3/8 at 84 1/2.

Semiconductor issues were up in active trading following positive statements by industry analysts. Some analysts said they expect the industry’s book-to-bill ratio, a measure of shipments and orders, to be improved again when it is released early next week.

National Semiconductor was the 15th most active issue on the NYSE, closing up 5/8 to 10 3/4. Texas Instruments rose 2 3/4 to close at 116 5/8, Motorola was up 1 3/8 to 39 and Advanced Micro Devices closed up 1 3/8 to 15 3/4. In over-the-counter trading, Intel was seventh most active, rising 1 to 21 1/2.

Tandycrafts rose 2 7/8 to 19 3/4 after a partnership offered to buy the retailer for $20 a share.

Auto Issues Mostly Up

Auto stocks mostly advanced even though the combined late-October sales of the Big Three auto makers fell 11.3% from a year earlier. General Motors climbed 7/8 to 73 3/8 and Chrysler rose to 39 5/8, but Ford Motor lost 7/8 to 58 3/8.

Union Carbide fell 7/8 to 21 1/8 after the chemicals giant announced a major recapitalization aimed at reducing its debt burden and said it planned to sell an additional 25 million common shares.

Orion Pictures moved up 1 to close at 14 7/8, with 453,400 shares changing hands. The company said it knew of no reason to account for the high volume.

Philadelphia Electric topped the active list and dropped 3/8 to 23 3/4 after a 1-million-share block crossed at 24 1/8.

In the bond market, the Treasury’s key 30-year bond finished with a gain of about $4 for each $1,000 in face amount, and its yield fell to 7.57% from 7.58% late Monday.

In corporate trading, industrials and utilities rose 1/8 point in light dealings. Among tax-exempt municipal bonds, general obligations were unchanged and revenue bonds were up 1/8. Trading was light to moderate.

Yields on three-month Treasury bills were up 4 basis points to 5.25%. Six-month bills rose 4 basis points to 5.33% and one-year bills were up 1 basis point at 5.42%.