The stock market was unchanged early today as prices steadied after being hit recently by waves of billion-dollar takeover proposals. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials was off .18 at 2,170.16 in the first half hour of trading. Losers kept pace with gainers in nationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed issues, with 443 up, 443 down and 512 unchanged. Volume on the Big Board came to 22.89 million shares as of 10 a.m. on Wall Street. Analysts are quick to note that two different markets currently are functioning _ one that involves takeover and buyout issues and another that involves the remaining equities untouched by either actual deals or speculation. ``The deal market can erupt anytime'' and propel the Dow Jones average higher, noted Larry Wachtel, first vice president at Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. ``All it takes is one announcement of another mega-deal and it's off to the races,'' he said, referring to recent billion-dollar bids for RJR Nabisco, Pillsbury, Kraft, West Point-Pepperell and Chicago Pacific. The rest of the market, however, is not awash with excitement. ``The broad market looks tired and overbought,'' Wachtel said. Some analysts believe the broader market is due for some consolidation. Among actively traded Big Board issues, Ford was up ] at 54; takeover target Nabisco was up 1| at 85|; Kraft fell 1} to 100\, and Pepsico was up \ at 43{. The NYSE's composite index of all its listed common stocks rose .04 to 158.89. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index was off .41 at 304.54. On Monday the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 13.16 to 2,170.34. Declining issues outnumbered advances by about 7 to 5 on the NYSE, with 593 up, 863 down and 503 unchanged. Big Board volume totaled 170.59 million shares, against 195.41 million in the previous session.
