Dow Jones Industrial Average

Stock prices moved higher in active trading Tuesday, although the Dow Jones industrial average posted only a slight gain. Computer issues paced the upswing, as did telephone, drug and financial stocks. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials briefly traded above its record closing high of 1,369.29, but it slipped in the final hour and closed with only a 0.22-point gain at 1,364.36. The blue-chip average masked the advance in the broader market.

A computer glitch at Dow Jones & Co. late in Tuesday's stock market session made it erroneously appear as though the closely watched Dow Jones industrial average had plunged nearly 200 points in a matter of seconds -- shocking traders and adding to the fear and confusion of an already chaotic day. The glitch sparked a cascade of sell orders at the New York Stock Exchange and other markets, causing delays in execution of trades and a choppy end to the trading session.

The stock market pushed ahead Thursday, establishing the second new high this week for the Dow Jones industrial average. The index, down more than 8 points in the early going, closed with an 8.26 gain at 1,753.71. That surpassed the previous closing peak of 1,746.05 reached Tuesday. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange came to 171.48 million shares, against Wednesday's 210.25 million, which was the second-largest total ever. K mart gained 1 1/2 to 42 1/8 in active trading.

Wednesday's stock market roller-coaster ride, during which the Dow Jones industrial average was off as much as 130 points, didn't rattle Jeff Wolin in the least. "I don't get concerned with the daily fluctuations because I'm in it for the long term. For investors who've been through it before, it's no big thing," said Wolin, an electrician who was checking his stock portfolio at lunchtime. "This high-tech rally of the last six weeks has been phenomenal," he said.

The stock market showed some scattered losses today, biding its time through the change of command in Washington. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials slipped 3.75 to 2,235.36, closing out the week with a net gain of 9.29 points. Declining issues outnumbered advances by about 7 to 6 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 659 up, 767 down and 515 unchanged. Big Board volume totaled 166.10 million shares, against 192.03 million in the previous session. The NYSE's composite index lost .09 to 161.

The stock market rang up its sixth straight gain Friday, extending its early-1987 rally to new heights despite periodic bouts of profit taking. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 3.66 to 2,005.91, closing out the week with a gain of 78.60 points. That marked the best weekly showing by the average since it soared 92.91 points in mid-March of 1986. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange came to 193.03 million shares, against 194.52 million Thursday.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange will begin trading options on the so-called dogs of the Dow from the first session in 1999. Investors often buy the Dow dogs--the 10 highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average--and hold them for a year, hoping to beat the average. Buying the new option "is by far the most cost-effective way to invest using the dogs-of-the-Dow strategy," said William Brodsky, CBOE chairman.