NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks were mixed yesterday, the slowest trading day of the year, as high-yielding Dow Jones industrial average stocks such as Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. rose and Cisco Systems Inc. and other big gainers in the recent rally declined.
The market closed three hours early, and many traders and investors took the day off for the Christmas holiday. Professional money managers were reluctant to make big trades because the absence of so many potential buyers and sellers makes it difficult to get the best prices. Trading is likely to be slower than normal next week as well.
The Dow rose 15.96, to 9,217.99, with J. P. Morgan & Co. and 3M accounting for three-quarters of the gain. 3M gained $1.4375, to $73.50, and J. P. Morgan rose $1.625, to $105. J. P. Morgan yields about 3.8 percent annually in dividends, the highest in the Dow, and 3M pays 3 percent, third-highest.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.27, to 1,226.27. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 9.51, to 2,163.03.
Russell 2,000 gains
Elsewhere on the broad market, the Russell 2,000 index of
small-capitalization stocks edged up 0.77 to 405.56; the Wilshire 5,000 index lost 3.71, to 11,168.97; the American Stock Exchange composite index advanced 1.71, to 666.49; and the S&P; 400 midcap index added 0.73, to 367.01.
The Sun-Bloomberg Maryland index of the top 100 Maryland stocks gained 0.77 to 190.91.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 15-to-13 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange, where nearly 247 million shares changed hands, the least since Dec. 26, and just one-third the average daily volume of the past three months.
Cisco, which more than doubled since Oct. 7 and set a record Wednesday, dropped $2.3125, to $94.1875. Lucent Technologies Inc., which rose 7.3 percent to a record yesterday, sank $2.25 to $107.50. Merck & Co., which rallied 3.5 percent the first three days this week, fell 81.25 cents to $148.8125.
Micron Technology Inc., one of the biggest makers of memory chips, slumped $1.75 to $52.25, though it reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss. The stock has surged 107 percent since Oct. 7 in anticipation of improvements in the company's business.
Wednesday's rally in large computer-related stocks helped push the Nasdaq composite and the S&P; 500 to records. The Dow industrial average is 156.28 points from its record of 9,374.27, set Nov. 23.
Among the big winners in Wednesday's rally, Intel was unchanged yesterday at $125, Dell Computer Corp. fell 87.5 cents, to $74.5625, and Microsoft Corp. fell $1.8125, to $141.75.
BTC Delia's Inc., the most active stock in U.S. trading, is the latest to surge on optimism about online commerce.
The retailer of clothing for girls and young women jumped $7.25, to $18.125, after it said it opened an online store on No. 1 Internet search directory Yahoo! Inc.'s World Wide Web site.
Seven of the 10 most active stocks were Internet-related. Multiple Zones International Inc., which sells computer equipment over the Web, fell $26.50, to $29.50, after soaring 390 percent Wednesday. Internet America Inc., an Internet service provider in Dallas, gained $13, to $44.
Ziff-Davis strong
Publisher Ziff-Davis Inc. rose $4.875, to $20.75. America Online Inc., the No. 1 online service, lost $1.375, to $136.625.
Rutherford-Moran Oil Corp. rose $1.125, to $3.125, after Chevron Corp. agreed to buy the U.S. oil and natural gas exploration company for about $393 million in stock and assumed debt. Chevron, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, fell 31.25 cents, to $84.6875.
Northwest Natural Gas Co., a gas utility serving Oregon and Washington, dropped $1.625, to $26.625, after warning that fourth-quarter profit from continuing operations will be 2 cents below analysts' expectations because of low oil prices and production problems at its Canadian exploration subsidiary.
Pub Date: 12/25/98