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Dow rallies from slump
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September 5, 1997: 3:22 p.m. ET
Headed toward the closing bell, DJIA off 33.45 at 7,833.79
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Blue-chip stocks headed toward the closing bell in negative territory Friday, but they rallied halfheartedly toward the weekend.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 32.45 points to 7,833.79 at 3:15 p.m. On the New York Stock Exchange, advances led declines 1,536 to 1,217 on volume of 452 million shares.
Stocks weighing down the Dow included DuPont (DD), down 1-5/16 at 62-1/16, United Technologies (UTX), off 2-7/16 at 79-5/16, and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) down 1/2 at 37-9/16.
Another active Dow component was Procter & Gamble (PG) which dropped 1-15/16 to 134-1/2 after Smith Barney cut it to "maintain" from "outperform." The brokerage is concerned about weakness in overseas markets, where P&G gets about 30 percent of its profits.
Other big consumer stocks also were downgraded by Smith Barney for the same reasons, including Gillette (G), down 1-1/8 to 81-5/16, and Avon (AVP), off 3-3/4 to 61.
Markets had employment figures to take into account Friday. Those numbers showed the August unemployment rate edging up just slightly to 4.9 percent and hourly wages rising in line with expectations. The numbers indicated enough strength in the economy to move some investors to sell off some shares for profits.
The bond market weakened, with 30-year Treasury bonds rising 13/32 in price. The yield, which moves in the opposite direction, slid to 6.64 percent.
The broader indexes moved farther apart late in the day. The Nasdaq Composite index was up 9.41 at 1,634.04 while the S&P 500 had fallen 1.96 to 928.91. The American Stock Exchange index gained 3.80 to 666.06.
Biogen stock (BGEN) dived 3 to 36-9/16 Friday on news that Merrill Lynch lowered its intermediate rating to "neutral" from "accumulate." Biogen makes genetically manufactured pharmaceuticals, and the downgrade resulted from lackluster sales of Avonex, the company's multiple sclerosis treatment drug.
Medical device maker Boston Scientific was in need of some resuscitation after its stock (BSX) lost 13-1/2 at 62-3/8 in afternoon trading. The company's stock was hit after it warned it would not meet quarterly earnings expectations. It was the second time this year it has issued such a warning.
Tupperware may not be in a partying mood. Its stock (TUP) tumbled 7-1/4, or 20 percent, to 27-7/8 after it gave a third-quarter earnings warning. It pointed to weaker-than-expected Latin American sales as part of the reason.
Tech Data (TECD) had excellent earnings news for investors, however. Its shares gained 3-7/16 to 43-1/2 Friday after the distributor of computer products said its second-quarter earnings beat analysts' estimates by more than 7 cents per share. 
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