Stocks Mixed in Active Trading; Dow Off 3.80

stock market recorded some spotty losses Friday after the modest advance of the past two sessions faded.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials dropped 3.80 to 1,777.98, bringing its decline for the week to 43.45 points.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange came to 149.68 million shares, against 132.39 million on Thursday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the market made attempts to rally from its sharp declines earlier in the month. But each time, the upswings failed to attract much support.

Merrill Lynch Forecast

That served to reinforce the belief among many analysts that stocks were not yet ready to shrug off their early July losses and resume the bull market that began almost four years ago.

On Friday, Merrill Lynch lowered its forecast of economic activity for the second half of the year. The firm, which had earlier been predicting growth at about a 3% annual rate, now says that “the economy is likely to slip sideways.”

“This further weakness in the economy will not be good news for corporate earnings, which are likely to improve little, if any, in 1986,” said Donald Straszheim, Merrill Lynch’s chief economist.

Brokers also said the filing Thursday by LTV Corp. for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code underscored the problems facing the industrial and energy sectors of the economy.

LTV shares, down 2 on Thursday, recovered 1/2 to 2 5/8. But other steel stocks ran into selling pressure for the second straight session.

USX tumbled 1 3/8 to 17, Bethlehem Steel 7/8 to 11, Inland Steel 1 to 15 5/8 and Armco 3/8 to 7.

BankAmerica fell to 13 in active trading. Earlier this week, the company reported a $640-million loss for the second quarter.

International Business Machines dropped to 131 3/4. The stock fell 11 5/8 for the week after the company reported a 7.7% decline in second-quarter earnings.

Schlumberger Drops

Black & Decker, which reduced its quarterly dividend to 10 cents a share from 16 cents, lost 1 to 17 1/8.

Schlumberger slipped 3/8 to 30. The company reported second-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, down from 71 cents in the comparable period last year.

However, some other energy issues gained ground. Exxon rose 1 1/8 to 60, Amoco 3 to 58 5/8 and Atlantic Richfield 1 5/8 to 49 7/8.

In the overall tally on the Big Board, declining issues outnumbered advances by nearly four to three.

The credit markets wound up the week with scattered gains, and shorter issues fared better than long-term securities.