U.S. blue-chips end off, small stocks, techs rally
By Holly Rosenkrantz
NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks capped off the final trading day of a volatile year on a mixed note, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ending lower while the long-suffering sector of small stocks outpaced the market.
The Dow shed 93.21 points, or 1 percent, to close unofficially at 9181.43, Throughout the day, the various blue-chip stocks in the index gyrated as investors were seen making last-minute adjustments to their 1998 portfolios.
''Although for the most part people had locked in profits for the year, there seemed to be a little anxiety going into the new year,'' said Charles Payne, head analyst at Wall Street Strategies.
Even though the multinational companies in the Dow face some anxiety from overseas economic turmoil, the index ended 1998 up roughly 16 percent.
However, that pales compared to the nearly 40 percent gain for the year in the Nasdaq Composite Index, heavily laden with high-flying technology stocks.
The index appeared mostly immune to any end-of-the-year anxiety as it squeezed out one more record high close on Thursday, gaining 25.76 points, or 1.19 percent, to 2192.71.
In the past 9 trading session, the Nasdaq has set 6 record closes. Its most recent record close came on Tuesday at 2181.77.
But long-lagging small stocks were the stars of the year's final trading session. The sector's main gauge, the Russell 2000 Index, outpaced the rest of the market to end up 10.06 points, or 2.44 percent, at 421.97 -- its biggest point gain in more than 3 months.
Still, the Russell was one of the few market indices to end the year with a loss, off more than 3 percent.
''A lot of the smaller players have been in the Internets,'' Payne said.
The S&P 500 Index, a broad market measure, ended the day down 2.7 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1229.23. But it closed the year up roughly 27 percent.
Despite the mixed performances for the day in the market's main gauges, overall breadth showed plenty more gains than losses.
Roughly 2300 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange while about 780 fell, and roughly 3100 stocks gained on the Nasdaq while about 1340 fell.
Volume was relatively strong for pre-holiday trading, with about 731 million shares changing hands on the Big Board.
Some of the day's most fervent action was related to stocks that will face some changes early in the new year.
Shares of British Petroleum Plc (NYSE:BP - news) jumped 11-15/16 to 95 on the Big Board, while Amoco Corp. (NYSE:AN - news) shares gained 4-1/4 to 59. British Petroleum on Wednesday won U.S. government approval for its $52.41 billion buyout of Amoco with minimal antitrust conditions.
Also, America Online (NYSE:AOL - news), the world's largest Internet service provider, shot up 12 points to 160, a new 52-week high close on its last trading session before being added to the S&P 500 Index.
News of the addition to the S&P has been a boon for AOL stock, since it means it will be bought by mutual funds that own shares of the index's components.
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