WALL STREET STOCKS HIGHER AT MIDSESSION
Wall Street demonstrated its
perseverance today as it recovered from an early wave of
selling and posted a strong advance at midday. The gain was
fueled by a strong auto sector as investors accumulated the
stocks in anticipation of bullish news later this week.
    The Dow Industrials, down 10 in the first minutes of the
session when a weak dollar and falling bond prices underscored
the market's lingering interest rate anxieties, recovered to
stand at 2417, up 11 points at midday. The broader market
showed less vigor, however, as advances eked out a lead over
declines. Volume was a strong 106 mln shares.
   Ford, up over a point for most of the session, stood at
90-5/8, up 1/2. Traders said that speculation that the company
will announce a stock split and dividend increase at its board
meeting on Thursday, encouraged the buying. Ford rose 2-5/8
yesterday.
    General Motors rose 1-5/8 to 83-1/8 in anticipation of
bullish news coming out of an analysts meeting scheduled for
Thursday and Friday, traders said. Chrysler, not expected to
make any major announcements this week, fell 1/2 to 57-3/4.
    "With the bonds weak this morning, the blue chips have been
holding the market up and that advance was sustained by an
influx of foreign money," analyst Charles Jensen of MKI
Securities said. "But poor breadth and poor performance by the
transport and utility averages and the fact the market is at
the top of its trading band supported in large part by foreign
cash, makes this market vulnerable," he said.
    Traders noted that Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker's
remarks today concerning the dollar's performance and its
bearing on monetary policy, injected caution into many
investors.
 Reuter
