Late Sell-Off Sends Dow Down 10.81; Volume Light

Wall Street stocks fell for the second straight session today, brought down by a bout of profit-taking in the final minutes of trading.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials fell 10.81 points to 2,727.93.

Declining issues outnumbered advances by around 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 873 down, 588 up and 495 unchanged.

Big Board volume totaled an extremely light 130.99 million shares, down from 177.32 million in Tuesday’s session.

The NYSE’s composite index declined 0.89 to 186.82.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index was down 0.27 at 363.15.

The Dow had been up 3.60 points at mid-session, and stocks remained in positive territory until the final hour of trade, when they quickly headed south.

Brokers attributed the late decline partly to profit-takers worried about the endurance of the market’s recent strength, particularly in the face of extraordinary weakness in the other major world stock market, Japan.

Last week, the Dow Jones average of 30 industrials gained 57.89 points to 2,741.22, its highest level since early January. The advance continued on Monday, as the blue-chip barometer picked up another 14.41 points. But it stalled in Tuesday’s trading and the retreat was extended today.

“The market is even-keel,” Larry Wachtel, an analyst for Prudential-Bache Securities Inc., said today. “After a substantial run-up, the overall market has quieted down.”

Analysts also said first-quarter earnings of many U.S. companies, due early next month, could show worse-than-expected results that would depress the value of American stocks.

The Tokyo stock market, which plunged on Monday and Tuesday, had a respite today for a national holiday. New York traders have been closely watching the weakening yen, which has fueled inflation in Japan and forced the central bank to raise its key interest rate by 1 percentage point on Tuesday.

Interest rates and bond prices barely budged today as the credit markets steadied after a powerful rally Tuesday.

“It’s very, very quiet today,” said Marshall B. Front, an economist at the Chicago investment and mutual fund management firm Stein Roe & Farnham. “Activity is about as slow as it’s been anytime in the past month.”

The market’s benchmark 30-year Treasury bond lost 1/16 point, or less than $1 per $1,000 in face amount after jumping 7/8 point--nearly $10 per $1,000--on Tuesday. Its yield, which falls when prices rise, edged up to 8.46% from 8.45% late Tuesday.

Yields on three-month Treasury bills held steady at 8.21% as the discount remained at 7.95%. Yields on six-month bills fell to 8.32%.