Gain

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- General Motors Corp. yesterday reported another car and truck sales decline in December, while Chrysler Corp. continued to gain amid a stronger than expected U.S. auto industry sales year.Chrysler, which eked out a 1 percent gain for the month, was the year's strongest performer among U.S. major automakers, beating the sales record it set in 1988.The gains reflect the popularity of the No. 3 automaker's pickups, minivans and Jeep sport-utility vehicles, combined with aggressive rebating to maintain demand for cars.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose to records for a fifth straight day yesterday, capping the Standard & Poor's 500 index's biggest weekly percentage gain in four years.Share prices seesawed as investors debated whether the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts during the past seven months will be enough to keep profits growing.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.17 to 5,541.62 and posted its best weekly gain in seven months. The 30-stock average is up 8.3 percent this year.Four computer-guided "sell" orders and three "buy" orders whipsawed stocks, according to Birinyi Associates Inc.Traders said part of the selling came as an investment firm switched its allocation by buying bonds and selling Standard & Poor's 500 index futures.

The government's chief economic forecasting gauge posted its biggest gain in almost three years, a sign local economists view with mixed reactions for Maryland.Sales of new homes and residential housing starts were also up sharply.The government said today the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which has been flashing recession warnings for the past eight months, reversed course in February and posted a big 1.1 percent increase.The Commerce Department said the gain in the index was the first since last June.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose a second day yesterday, paced by gains in Mobil Corp. and other oil issues, amid optimism that a compromise will be reached on balancing the federal budget. Computer equipment and software stocks also advanced.Talks between President Clinton and congressional leaders renewed confidence that the two sides could soon agree on a budget plan, ending a partial shutdown of the government. If the two sides succeed in bringing spending in line with revenue, interest rates would fall, helping profits to blossom, investors said.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks surged yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the central bank might be willing to raise interest rates to head off inflation and aid economic expansion. The Dow Jones industrial average registered its biggest gain in four months.Surprisingly good profits from Merck & Co. and McDonald's Corp. helped push the Dow industrials up 87.30 points, or 1.6 percent, to 5,464.18. It was the biggest leap since a 1.8-percent gain March 18, also a day when optimism about profits cheered investors.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ended one of its toughest years in more than a decade yesterday with a better-than-expected profit for the holiday quarter and a fairly upbeat forecast for this year. Even so, it finished the year with only a slight gain at stores open at least a year, 2.1 percent. That key measure of retail performance was the company's slowest since it began recording same-store sales increases in 1980. Investors, however, were buoyed by the news. "I would not be surprised if they're at a low point," said Victor Hawley, portfolio manager at Reed, Conner & Birdwell of Los Angeles, which holds about 850,000 shares in Wal-Mart worth about $42 million.

WASHINGTON - U.S. service industries expanded at a faster rate last month, and September factory orders rose for a fourth time in five months amid signs that the economy is adding jobs at a quicker pace. The Institute for Supply Management's index of nonfactory businesses climbed to 64.7, the second-highest level on record, from 63.3 in September. Readings higher than 50 indicate growth. Orders at U.S. factories rose 0.5 percent in September, the Commerce Department said. A gauge of employment in the service index rose to the highest level since November 2000, prompting economists at UBS Securities LLC to more than double their estimate for October's employment report, to a gain of 125,000 jobs.

Reversing direction after losing 19 points in two previous sessions, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 12.66 points yesterday and closed at 3,908.00. The Dow utility, transportation, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes also gained ground.YOU SAID IT: Participating in our Dow Jones forecasting contest, which ends at midnight Sunday (complete rules in last Tuesday's Ticker), some readers expressed these views on their postcard entries:"Regarding your 1994 year-end forecast of Dow Jones 3,750, shame on you for not having faith in the stock market for this year.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose yesterday as declining interest rates boosted the profit outlook for J. P. Morgan & Co. and other banks. Software shares dropped, limiting the market's gains.Stocks followed bond prices higher after a private manufacturing survey suggested the economy isn't growing fast enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to raise rates today as an anti-inflation measure. Steady or falling rates and rising earnings have underpinned this year's 20 percent rally in stocks."It can't get much better, but I think it can continue to be good for some time," said Lee Kopp, president of Kopp Investment Advisers, which manages $3.3 billion.

A surge of last-minute Christmas shopping and post-holiday bargain hunting helped ward off what could have been a most disappointing holiday retail season. Instead, retailers pulled through the crucial shopping season with an average December sales rise of 2.3 percent, which was merely the smallest year-over-year increase in five years, according to monthly sales figures released yesterday. The figures are gleaned from an index of 84 major U.S. chains by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. Despite a recession and continued job layoffs, consumers were willing to spend.