Dow Extends Winning Streak

The Dow industrials rose within 55 points of a new record Tuesday, advancing for an eighth straight session for its longest winning streak in two years.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite reached new highs again despite some profit-taking among leading Internet stocks.

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The measure of 30 major companies has now tacked on 530 points in eight sessions, expanding this year's surprising gain to 17.9 percent. The Dow's eight-session winning streak came more than two years ago, after President Clinton was re-elected in November 1996.

Volume accelerated modestly from Monday's lifeless pace but remained very light.

Many investors took off this week for an extended break between Christmas and New Year's, and those who showed up were trading cautiously to ensure a happy ending to an extremely difficult year.

As recently as early October, the Dow was trading in the 7,000's and heading for its first losing year since 1990. Now, the blue-chip barometer is on the verge of its fourth year in a row with a gain of more than 15 percent, if not its fourth straight with a gain of more than 20 percent.

The most notable decliners Tuesday were leading Internet issues, although the losses paled in comparison with the big gains racked up by that group.

Retail shares rose broadly. Comments by PaineWebber analyst Richard Jaffe helped fuel some of the gains in apparel retailers, with AnnTaylor Stores (ANN) appreciating 2 to 37 1/4 and Intimate Brands (IBI) gaining 1 7/8 to 30. Also, Gap climbed 5 1/8 to 60 11/16, Federated Department Stores 2 1/16 to 43 13/16, and Limited 2 1/4 to 29 1/2.

As well, Claire's Stores (CLE) was ahead 1 11/16 to 20 3/16 after Scott & Stringfellow raised its rating to "strong buy" from "hold."

A bunch of drug stocks printed multipoint wins. Pfizer appreciated 5 3/16 to 124 5/8, Eli Lilly 2 7/8 to 90 1/8, Schering Plough 2 3/8 to 56 1/4Bristol-Myers Squibb 4 15/16 to 133 3/4, and Merck 3 1/16 to 151 1/16.

Elsewhere, Internet shares saw their nine-day winning streak end on profit-taking. Web service provider Rocky Mountain Internet shed 9 15/16 to 16 after bolting about 160 percent in the prior two sessions.

In the electronic commerce segment, SkyMall put on another 5 1/8 to 40 3/4. Shares of the in-flight catalog company nearly tripled Monday.

And in the let's-launch-a-Web-site department: Active Apparel Group (AAGP). Its shares leaped 7 1/2, or 65 percent, to 19. Monday, the stock catapulted 820 percent after it pulled the wraps off its site at www.everlastusa.com. The company makes apparel bearing the Everlast and Converse tags.

Not to be outdone, leather clothing manufacturer G-III Apparel Group (GIII) ballooned 6 3/4, or 318 percent, to 8 7/8 as investors sought out apparel-related names with a Web presence. Its site is at www.g3leather.com.

In addition, jeans maker Guess Inc. (GES) added 2 7/8, or 68 percent, to 7 1/8 and mail order retailer Initio (INTO) stormed ahead 3 3/16, or 213 percent, to 4 11/16 in sympathy with other apparel concerns.

Bikers Dream (BIKR) surged 4 9/32, or 167 percent, to 6 216/256 on word the motorcycle manufacturer is enhancing its Web site.

Inktomi sank 10 3/8 to 127. After Tuesday's close of activity, the company announced a two-for-one stock split effective on or about Jan. 27 to shareholders of record on Jan. 12. Inktomi develops and markets scalable software applications designed for use by Internet search engine and media concerns.

In Tuesday's market indicators:

• New York Stock Exchange winners coasted past losers by 17 to 13. Stocks hitting 52-week highs came to 130, while 75 shares sank to 52-week lows.
• Big Board volume expanded 12 percent to 587 million shares.
• The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1 percent to a record. Advancing issues bettered decliners by 21 to 19 in the Nasdaq Stock Market, with 121 new highs and 121 new lows. Volume totaled 913 million shares.
• The Russell 2000 Index of small-company stocks gained 0.5 percent.
• In the bond market, buyers came in to lift Treasurys from their doldrums in afternoon dealings, buoyed by a great reception in the monthly 2-year note auction. The 30-year Treasury rose 19/32, to yield 5.113 percent.

• ValueVision International (VVTV) soared 5 1/8, or 82 percent, to 11 3/8. The direct marketer said its television home shopping operation achieved a pre-Christmas December sales increase of 70% over the year-ago period.
• National Discount Broker (NDB) vaulted 17 1/2, or 125 percent, to 31 1/2. The investment brokerage concern posted fiscal second-quarter net of 42 cents a share vs. the 16 cents it earned in the same period a year ago.
• Halliburton (HAL) will lay off 2,750 employees from its energy services group. The cutback comes in the wake of October's dcision to lay off 8,100 workers and is in response to declining crude oil prices and rampdowns in its clients' spending plans. The layoffs should trim about 5 cents a share from its fourth-quarter pretax earnings, with the company projecting net to be between 14 cents and 16 cents a share. Wall Street had looked for 36 cents. The stock slipped 2 9/16 to 30 3/8.
• ADAC Laboratories (ADAC) lost 5 1/4 to 21 7/8. The provider of healthcare services and systems will restate its financial results for fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998. As part of the restatement, the company will adjust the timing of certain revenues over the 1996-1998 period.
• Network Equipment Technologies (NWK) fell 2 1/16 to 11 3/16. The wide-area networking specialist said fiscal third-quarter earnings will be significantly below consensus forecasts due to weakness in Asian markets and softness in its lease transactions business.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) booked a 4-point gain to 44 1/16. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Bruce Misset fattened his price target to $45 from $35 and repeated his "outperform" rating. Misset likes the bookseller's prospects for online sales growth.
• Sanmina (SANM) tacked on 3 1/4 to 62. Shares of the semiconductor component maker will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index as of the beginning of Wednesday's trading session.