Dow Recoups 11.23 as Buyers Seek Bargains : Market Overview

* The stock market recouped a little of its recent losses with an on-again, off-again rally Friday, riding out a “triple witching hour” in the process. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.23 points to close at 3,285.35.

* Mexico’s stock market advanced for the second day in a row after losing nearly 12% of its value earlier in the week.

* Treasury bond prices fell, depressed in part by a belief that interest rates won’t fall anytime soon.

* The dollar advanced in thin trading on world currency markets amid fresh hope for European unity.

Stocks

Before Friday’s rally, the Dow Jones industrial average had lost about 81 points over the previous three days. That left the index with a loss of 69.01 points for the week.

Advancing issues outnumbered declines by nearly 3 to 2 in the daily tally on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume came to 240.85 million shares, against 225.6 million in the previous session.

Other than that heavier than usual trading, the market showed no disruptive effects from a quarterly witching hour involving expiring stock-index futures and options.

Among the market highlights:

* Among actively traded blue chips, Coca-Cola rose 3/4 to 40 3/8; Merck gained 1/2 to 48 1/4; Philip Morris increased 5/8 to 72 5/8; General Motors added 1 1/8 to 43 7/8 and American Telephone & Telegraph rose 3/4 to 42 1/4.

* Several individual stocks were hit hard by earnings disappointments.

Quanex tumbled 5 1/4 to 22 1/2. Late Thursday the company said it expected earnings for the fiscal quarter that ends July 31 to be off as much as 50% from the comparable period a year ago.

* Huffy Corp. fell 3 5/8 to 13 1/2. The company estimated a drop of 25% to 30% in second-quarter profit, citing problems in its bicycle operations, and said it had decided to stop making its Cross Sport bicycle.

* Lifetime Corp. lost 3 3/8 to 11 1/4 after issuing a projection of sharply lower second-quarter operating earnings that it attributed to slowing growth in revenue and stepped-up pressure on profit margins. Shares of Lifetime, which provides home health care services, have lost more than two-thirds of their value from as high as 37 7/8 earlier this year.

Intel, among the volume leaders in the NASDAQ over-the-counter market, rose 1 5/8 to 52 5/8.

Overseas, a rebound in international stock markets injected strength into the London market, which moved sharply higher, recovering much of the week’s earlier losses. An apparently decisive Irish vote in favor of the Maastricht Treaty on European unity also helped market sentiment. The Financial Times 100 index closed up 22.1 points at 2,584.8, down 18.9 points on the week.

In Frankfurt, the 30-share DAX index closed 1.11 points higher at 1,772.89, 9.38 points down on the week.

Tokyo stocks ended sharply higher on a technical rebound. The 225-share Nikkei average ended up 474.31 points or 2.96% at 16,519.87, 863.81 points down on the week.

In Mexico City, the Bolsa index rose 52.06 points, or 3.2%, to 1,686.25, after gaining 40.90 points Thursday. It ended the week down 123.63 points.

Credit

The yield on the Treasury’s bellwether 30-year bond rose to 7.83% from 7.80% late Thursday. The price, which falls when yields rise, declined 11/32 point, or about $3.44 per $1,000 in face amount.

Yields on three-month Treasury bills rose to 3.72% as the discount gained 4 basis points to 3.65%. Yields on six-month bills rose to 3.88% as the discount gained 6 basis points to 3.76%. Yields on one-year bills climbed to 4.15% as the discount rose 9 basis points to 3.98%.

A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The yield is the annualized return on an investment in a Treasury bill. The discount is the percentage that bills are selling below the face value, which is paid at maturity.

The federal funds rate, the interest on overnight loans between banks, was quoted at 3 9/16%, down from 3 11/16% late Thursday.

Currency

Traders said the dollar was supported somewhat by Ireland’s ratification of the European unity treaty.

In Tokyo, the dollar fell to a closing 126.92 Japanese yen from 127.63 yen at Thursday’s close. Later, in London, it fell to 126.90 yen. In New York the dollar settled at 127 yen, up from 126.80 yen on Thursday.

In London, the British pound fell to $1.8595 from $1.8660 late Thursday. In New York it cost $1.8590 to buy one pound, less expensive than Thursday’s $1.8635.

Other late dollar rates in New York, compared to late Thursday’s rates, included: 1.5730 German marks, up from 1.5670; 1.4195 Swiss francs, up from 1.4135; 5.2960 French francs, up from 5.2785; 1,190.25 Italian lire, up from 1,187.00, and 1.1973 Canadian dollars, down from 1.1985.

Commodities

Skepticism that the International Coffee Organization can reach a price-support accord during meetings next week sent coffee prices tumbling at New York’s Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange Friday.

Gold prices fell after advancing in overseas trading. On the New York Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $340.80 an ounce, off $1.80.

Market Roundup, D6