Dow Gains 12.83, Tops 2,300 Mark

Wall Street stocks climbed above the 2,300 level Friday, boosted by a positive reaction to March unemployment figures and by solid gains among high technology shares.

The Dow Jones industrial index rose 12.83 points to 2,304.80. For the week, the index gained 11.18 points.

Declines led advances by 882 to 543 on moderate volume of 156,950,000 shares, compared to 146,530,000 shares Thursday. Weekly volume was 794,700,000 shares.

The employment figures, the first official measure of the economy’s performance in March, showed the unemployment rate falling to a 15-year low of 5% from 5.1% in February. Non-farm jobs rose by 180,000, a smaller increase than expected.

Stocks were propelled to their best levels of the day at mid-session, when some futures-related buying kicked in.

“Real buyers have been chasing the buy programs,” said a trader, referring to computer-driven program trading.

Charles Jensen of MKI Securities said stock market investors may have decided that the jobs data showed that the U.S. economy “is on an even keel,” with neither a recession nor higher inflation indicated. He said the better performers were those stocks that tend to do better in a good economy.

In Tokyo, share prices closed higher Friday in light trading, bolstered by bargain hunting after a steep decline the day before.

The 225-share Nikkei index gained 189.27 points, or 0.57%, to 33,185.05, ending the week 346.37 points, or 1.05%, higher.

Stocks closed lower Friday on the London Stock Exchange, but some bargain hunting lifted prices above the day’s lows.

Shares opened sharply lower with the Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-share index dropping nearly 25 points in the first few minutes of trading. The index closed 6.8 points, or 0.3%, lower at 2,045.7, near the day’s high of 2,045.9.

CREDIT

Bond prices finished lower, retreating quickly after an early spurt in a confused reaction to the Labor Department’s employment report, which contained both good and bad news for traders.

The good news that caused a brief rally was that the non-farm payroll rose less than expected in March. The bad news was that the civilian jobless rate fell to 5%, the lowest in more than 15 years.

The Treasury’s benchmark 30-year bond, up nearly a point in the first half-hour after the report’s 8:30 a.m. EDT release, ended the day with a decline of 11/16 point, or $6.88 per $1,000 face amount. The bond’s yield, which rises when the price falls, climbed to 9.11% from 9.01% late Thursday.

The federal funds rate, the interest on overnight loans between banks, traded at 9.75%, down from 9.813% late Thursday.

CURRENCY

The dollar gained against most major currencies amid buying inspired by signs of continuing economic strength in the employment report and market rumors.

Gold prices posted modest declines. Republic National Bank of New York quoted a bid of $383.25 for an ounce of gold as of 4 p.m. EDT, 35 cents lower than Thursday’s late bid.

Walter Simon, an assistant vice president at Bank Julius Baer & Co., said dealers bid up the dollar after judging that, on balance, the Labor Department figures indicated economic growth persists at more than just a mediocre pace.

The dollar also moved ahead on buying sparked by two unconfirmed reports, one involving the possibility of a $30-billion tax cut in the United States.

The dollar began its trading day in Tokyo where it fell 0.07 yen to close at 132.08 yen. Later, in London, it was quoted at 132.42 yen and in New York it finished at 132.725 yen, up from 132.275 on Thursday.

In London, the dollar gained against the British pound, which fell to $1.6975 from $1.7035 late Thursday. Sterling fetched $1.6945 late in New York, compared to $1.7005 Thursday.

COMMODITIES

Grain futures prices tumbled on the Chicago Board of Trade as a new trading agreement in Switzerland sent shock waves across the Atlantic.

On other futures markets, livestock and meat prices were mostly lower, precious metals slipped, copper soared and energy prices advanced.

Wheat prices slipped as much as 9 cents for the May contract.

Barney Janecki, a Chicago analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., said traders were concerned about a reduction in the U.S. export bonus offers to the Soviet Union as the result of the pact reached Friday by 100 nations meeting at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade talks in Geneva.

Wheat settled 4 to 9 cents lower, with the contract for delivery in May at $3.915 a bushel; corn was 1.25 cent lower to 0.5 cent higher, with May at $2.66 a bushel; oats were 1.25 cent lower to 0.25 cent higher, with May at $1.855, and soybeans were 2.25 cent to 6 cents lower, with May at $7.1175 a bushel.