Daily News from New York, New York • 55

55 Tired' stoeEssffai ee nsma Diatmum as mercury econ -1250 DOW JONES INDUSTRIALS u1200 -1175 -1150 -1125 -IIOO -1075 HIGH I 1234.42 CLOSE Ia1219.72 LOW I 1210.72 VOLUME: 99.8 million shares -1050 29 22 IS UP 652 UNCHANGED 356 DOWN I DJXA. Hr.S.E Comp. 94.99-0.61 SAP 400 1B5.04-1.10 VOLUME: H.1.SM. 99 8 tht. AMEX 14 8 tha.

platinum, which also has uses in making petroleum products, chemicals, glass, electrical products, and jewelry, and in dentistry and medicine. "People believe there's going to be an industrial recovery," said Paul Sarnoff, the director of the metals unit at Paine Webber. "In an economy that's improving, you expect industrial demand to rise for all industrial metals," Raptopoulos said. Platinum rose above $455 a troy ounce this week in contracts for current delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold bullion hovered below $445 an ounce on the New York Commodity Exchange. Just last Sept.

20, the price of platinum was $130 an ounce below gold, a sharp reversal from conditions on March 5, 1980, when platinum peaked at $1,085 before settling back to close at $1,040 a troy ounce, still more than $400 above the price of a troy ounce of gold. Those sharp price swings for a commodity with a reputation of being the most precious metal, including a drop to $243.60 a troy ounce on June 22, 1982, make clear that its scarcity is no protection against risk. But Sarnoff said investors and speculators alike have renewed their love affair with platinum. The possibility that there might not be enough platinum to meet trading demand has spurred speculative interest in the metal, said-Sarnoff. Associated Press By GERALD M.

CONNORS Stocks dropped in active trading yesterday, with analysts describing the list as "tired" and "winding down" after its dramatic 400-point surge since last summer. The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 9.96 to 1,219.73 while losing issues led winners, 988-652, on the New York Exchange, where volume churned to 99.8 million shares vs. 104 million Tuesday. THE PULL-BACK failed to convince everybody that the bull market is near an end, however, as rumors that a cut in the Federal Reserve's BW76 discount rate is close at hand spread through Wall Street. Overseas, the dollar weakened amid speculation that the Fed may cut its rate as early as tomorrow.

The Federal Reserve Board announced that consumer installment debt jumped $2.58 billion to an annual rate of 9 in March vs. February's 2.6 rate of gain. Ralph Bloch, a vice president of Moseley Hallgarten Estabrook Weeden, said, "We're starting to see very early signs of the major market leaders beginning to roll over. They're now under-performing the market. In the past, this has led to a correction, eventually.

And the rally attempts are becoming weaker." At E.F. Hutton analyst Newton Zinder noted the market seemed to be suffering from "tired blood having some difficulty regaining the upward momentum that it displayed over most of the past few weeks." OILS FINISHING ahead more than a point included Atlantic Richfield, Getty, and Standard of Indiana. Penn-zoil, Texaco, Sohio, Phillips, and Kerr- By STEVEN P. ROSENFELD Platinum is once more priced higher than gold on the commodity markets, a sure sign that traders believe the economy is staging a recovery. The narrow premium that platinum has achieved over gold bullion in the past week snapped a 20-month stretch in which it trailed gold.

ALTHOUGH IT IS scarcer than gold, platinum's many industrial uses tie its fate closely to the health of the economy, especially the automobile industry. Platinum is used to make the catalytic converters required for air-pollution control devices on cars sold in the United States. If the economy has been ill in recent years, the automobile industry has been in critical condition. "NORMALLY, platinum is at a premium to gold. It is considered a more valuable metal; there is less of it," said Bette Raptopoulos, a metals analyst at Prudential-Bache Securities.

"But it has become an industrial metal, and it became more sensitive to industrial Since 1968, when the central banks of the leading industrial nations abandoned efforts to set the market price of gold, the only other sustained period when platinum traded at a discount to gold was during the 1974-75 recession, according to J. Aron a leading dealer in precious metals. But now, auto sales are rising and the economy is showing signs of a rebound. THAT HAS BEEN good news for McGee tacked on strong fractions. Mesa Royalty rose to 25.

Texas Instruments tumbled 4'4, and General Instrument, 3'8, in a weaker glamor group. Data General lost 3' to 58, while Motorola gave up 2, and Honeywell, 1. Commodore Int'l boomed 4 to 95'8. Zayre starred in a mixed retail sector, jumping 4 to 82 in response to tripled earnings. Call ft ITT London (AP) Shareholders of International Telephone and Telegraph Corp.

yesterday approved changing the conglomerate's name to ITT Corp. Shareholders at the annual meeting here, the first by an American corporation held overseas, also heard that ITTs first-quarter profit fell 17.57o from last year on a 9.3 revenue drop. sbIos zoom new rates along in high gear By JEROME CAIIILL The Harlem Savings Bank announced yesterday it is changing its name and Monday will be called the Apple Bank for Savings. At the same time, it said it is cutting consumer lending rates five points to on home improvement, auto, and personal loans; expanding mort- gage lending to include INITIALLY, RETAIL sales in March were estimated as advancing only 0.3, but later information pushed the figure sharply upward to 1.7, the department said. If the April estimate holds up, it would mean that retail sales for the first quarter were up 0.1 from the final three months of last year.

Auto sales jumped 5.5 in April, thanks to attractive financing offered by dealers, and accounted for more than half of the over-all 1.6 increase for the month. In March, the auto sector was up 7.7. iuuuu anu cu-ui iiiinii- cing, and creating a customer service program. AP Colby Chandler Kodak pick Washington (News Bureau) Retail sales, spurred by a sharp jump in the sales of new cars, scored a substantial 1.6 advance in April, according to preliminary data issued yesterday by the Commerce Department. The report, coupled with revised figures showing an even higher gain in March, suggested consumers were shaking off their recession-induced caution and returning to the marketplace.

Administration analysts, who had termed consumer spending vital for the fledgling recovery, were delighted by the news. Robert Dederick, Commerce's undersecretary for economic affairs, said it presaged "further good spending gains," especially after the July 1 tax cut takes effect. "The sharp rise in retail sales comes as no surprise," Dederick said. "Increased spending had been signalled -by the recent gains in employment and earnings, the surge in consumer sentiment, and the dramatic climb in the' stock market." lie uaiift. aisu is New logo designing a commercial lending program offering loans of up to $500,000 to small business owners to be introduced later this year.

Harlem Chairman William R. Bren-nan Jr. announced a $2.3 million profit for the first quarter of 1983 the first quarterly profit in four years. The 120-jear-old bank doubled in size last year when it took over the ailing Central Savings Bank. It now has $1.5 billion in assets and 16 branches in New York City and Long Island.

The new name and new services are intended to upgrade the bank's image and help position it as a major retail banking center. R.B. Plunkett Jr. FURNITURE outlets, and stores specializing in building supplies, also contributed to the 4 gain in durable- goods sales. Non-durable goods rose a modest 0.5, despite a 1.1 drop in sales of general merchandise.

After seasonal adjustment, the retail sales volume for April was estimated at $94.2 billion, including $17.6 billion in auto sales. The total was $1.5 billion higher than March retail sales' of $92.7 billion, the department said. Orlando, Fla. (AP-Colby Chandler, president of Eastman Kodak Co. since 1977, was elected chairman yesterday.

He will replace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Walter Fallon, who will retire July 1. Kay Whitmore, 51, an executive vice president and general manager of Kodak's Photographic Division, will replace Chandler as president Fallon told shareholders that cost-cutting moves will continue..