FINANCIAL MARKETS : Stock Rally Takes Breather; Dow Off 2.28

Stock prices edged lower Friday, weighed down by soft bond prices and a late bout of profit taking one day after the market rocketed in a broad-based rally to an all-time closing high.

The Dow Jones index of 30 industrials, which had climbed 56.53 points Thursday, slipped back 2.28 to 2,732.36. That left the average with a net gain of 44.39 points for the week.

Declining issues outnumbered advances by about 9 to 8 in nationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, with 716 up, 798 down and 485 unchanged.

Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 165.93 million shares, down from 225.52 million in the previous session.

The market appeared to pause as some traders cashed in the dramatic gains of stock prices lately.

But prices generally held steady on the strength of the enthusiasm generated by Thursday’s record high and the widespread public attention it received.

Analysts say the market has been able to recoup the last of the losses it suffered in the crash of 1987 with help from increasing confidence that the Federal Reserve can restrain inflation without causing a recession.

They also note that corporate earnings have risen sharply in the past two years, making the perceived risk in stocks less than it was when the market peaked out two years ago Friday.

In London, stocks ended higher but sharply below their session peaks. The Financial Times 100-share average ended up 10.7 points at 2,393.1, down from a session high of 2,404.5.

Credit

Bond prices fell after traders dumped Treasury securities in a late-afternoon selloff, market watchers said.

The Treasury’s benchmark 30-year bond fell 11/32 of a point, or $3.44 for every $1,000 in face amount.

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MARKETS AT A GLANCE

DOW 30 -2.28 2,732.36 NYSE -0.50 194.79 AMEX -0.27 381.18 NASDAQ +0.87 466.75 WILSHIRE -6.357 3,428.706 S&P; 500 -1.00 350.52