The stock market chalked up a small gain Friday, closing out January on an upbeat note as investors surveyed fresh evidence of a strengthening economy.
The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 3.78 points to 3,310.03, finishing the week with a net advance of 53.22 points.Advancing issues outnumbered declines by about 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume came to an estimated 247.04 million shares as of 4 p.m. EST, against 255.55 million in the previous session.
The Commerce Department reported that new factory orders for durable goods jumped 9.1 percent in December, completing their best year since 1988.
The figures followed by a day data showing stronger-than-expected growth in the gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of last year.
But some analysts remain skeptical that a sustained period of strong expansion has begun.
In addition, brokers say, the stock market appears already to have taken a significant improvement in the economy into account with its rally in the fall and early winter.
With its rise this week, the Dow Jones industrials finished January 8.92 points higher than their 1992 yearend level. Other, broader market indexes also wound up on the plus side for January, having performed better than the Dow earlier in the month.
The indicators thus sent a positive signal to followers of the so-called January barometer, which holds that the behavior of stocks in the first month sets the tone for the rest of the year.
The doctrine has many detractors, who say no such theory can be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. But it remains widely discussed on Wall Street.
Among the day's individual volume leaders, Scientific-Atlanta tumbled 45/8 to 241/4 after the company reported lower profits for the fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 1.
Pinnacle West Capital was actively traded, up 1/4 at 201/4. The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $24.64 million, or 28 cents a share, against a loss of $283.61 million in the cor-responding period a year earlier.
American Re Corp. also ranked among the volume leaders, jumping to 37 after an initial public offering at 31.
Computervision gained 1/2 to 61/8. The company reported a profit of $4.8 million for the fourth quarter, against a loss in the comparable period a year earlier, and declared an initial quarterly dividend of 1 cent a share.
Great Lakes Chemical climbed 31/4 to 743/8, trading at new highs. Fourth-quarter profits came to 85 cents a share, up from 56 cents a share in the corresponding quarter of 1991.
Electric utilities, which have benefited from recent strength in the bond market, also had a good day. Consolidated Edison of New York, up 3/8 at 335/8; Entergy, up 3/8 at 343/4; Montana Power, up 1/2 at 263/4; Philadelphia Electric, up 1/4 at 273/4, and Northeast Utilities, up 3/8 at 271/4, all traded at new highs for at least the past 52 weeks.
The Nasdaq composite index for the over-the-counter market rose 1.67 to 696.34. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index was up .59 at 411.08.