Dow Index Gains 5.87; Market Unscathed by ‘Triple Witching Hour’

NEW YORK — Blue chip stocks surged in the last hour of trading Friday, riding out the so-called triple witching hour, to pull off their fourth consecutive weekly rise.

But the Dow Jones industrial index failed to hold all of its gains and closed just below 2,100. The Dow 30 closed up 5.87 points at 2,098.15, for a weekly gain of 29.34 points. Trading was brisk with 211.1 million shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, compared to 161.2 million on Thursday. Advancing issues outnumbered declines by about 8 to 5 in NYSE trading

The session began and ended with outbursts of activity by professional traders closing out positions linked to expiring stock index futures and options.

Some of those September contracts were settled as of the opening, and others at the close.

In the last month of each calendar quarter, the simultaneous expiration of a set of index options, index futures and options on individual stocks has become a familiar phenomenon, dubbed the triple witching hour.

Signs of Slower Growth

Among the many smaller stocks not involved in this kind of computer program trading, analysts noted some cautious buying.

The economy has obliged Wall Street lately by showing signs of growing at a slower, and presumably more sustainable, pace, but the markets’ response hasn’t been as enthusiastic as many observers expected.

A slew of takeovers, both real and imagined, helped attract investor interest Friday. But market analysts said there was little activity in other sectors.

Lower oil prices, which fell more than 30 cents a barrel in New York, gave only a mild boost to stocks because the Treasury bond market appeared to ignore the fall, market analysts said.

“There’s no impetus for the market to move ahead,” said James Boham, an analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co.

Boham said weakness in oil and gold prices, which imply lower inflation, had been positive factors for the market this week. “The inflation indicators have been under control and there’s a somewhat better feeling in the market.”

But investors remained hesitant, he said. “The big question is whether the (economic) weakness in August and the trend in commodity markets will continue.”

Among actively traded blue chips, Exxon rose 3/4 to 45 3/4, General Electric gained 1 to 43 and American Telephone & Telegraph was up 3/8 at 25 7/8. Ford Motor dropped 1 1/8 to 50 1/8.

Time Inc. jumped 9 3/8 to 106 5/8 amid reports, unconfirmed as of the market close, that the company had retained a prominent firm specializing in mergers and buyouts.

American Brands gained 3 to 51 5/8. A New York investor sought regulatory approval to acquire a large stake in the company.

Reebok International fell 1 1/8 to 12. The company projected lower earnings for the third quarter and the year, citing pressure on its margins and heavy advertising costs.

Hospital Corp. of America rose 5/8 to 44 3/8 on top of a 6 5/8-point gain Thursday, when a group of company executives proposed a buyout at about $47 a share.

Foreign Markets Mixed

The Wilshire index of 5,000 equities closed at 2,688.750, up 18.999.

The NYSE’s composite index of all its listed common stocks added 1.19 to 152.79.

Standard & Poor’s industrial index rose 2.87 to 310.81, and S&P;’s 500-stock composite index was up 2.52 at 270.65.

The NASDAQ composite index for the over-the-counter market gained 1.21 to 383.91. At the American Stock Exchange, the market-value index closed at 298.22, up 0.52.

In Tokyo, share prices fluctuated narrowly and closed slightly higher in the first trading after the United States reported a sharp drop in its monthly trade deficit. The Nikkei 225-share index rose 60.71 points to 27,866.38.

Stock prices closed slightly lower in light trading on the London Stock Exchange.

The Financial Times 100-stock index declined 2.6 points to 1,766.7.