FINANCIAL MARKETS : STOCKS : Late Selling Pushes Dow Down 32.67

The stock market seemed again poised to carry the Dow Jones industrial index across the historic 3,000 threshold Friday, but last-minute anxieties about corporate earnings dumped the Dow for a 32.67-point loss.

The catalyst was a disappointing second-quarter earnings report from Texas Instruments. It triggered a selloff that left the Dow at 2,961.14, ending a particularly frustrating week for the market.

The Dow closed a quarter point below 3,000 on two days and traded above the mark during three sessions. For the week, the Dow was off 19.06 points, or 0.6%.

“The market lollygagged, then lollygagged some more,” said Alfred Goldman, chief technical analyst for A. G. Edwards & Sons Inc.

Some traders had predicted a surge of buying near the close of trading Friday because of the expiration of July stock-index futures. But the surge never took place because of traders who canceled expiration-related buy orders when Texas Instruments reported its bad news.

The maker of semiconductors and electronic equipment reported second-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, compared to $1.14 last year, and said it may post a loss for the third quarter. The stock closed off 5 3/4 at 33 1/8, dragging most high-tech stocks down with it.

Another technology stock, Storage Technology, slumped 8 3/4 to 25 3/4 after the company told analysts that it has seen “some weakness” in orders recently.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 177.81 million shares, compared to 161.99 million Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was off 3.71 to 361.61. On the Big Board, 909 stocks fell while 582 rose.

The late dive in prices continued a pattern in which panicky investors have recently sold stocks relentlessly on bad news.

“The market grabs hold of these negative surprises and murders the stocks,” said Andrew Riley, market strategist with Yamaichi International in New York. “Then it murders them some more.”

The pattern reflects investors’ uncertainty about the economic environment. The same sentiment seems apparent in the way investors have bought up blue chips--and carried the Dow to repeated records in recent weeks--while neglecting many smaller issues. Goldman, of A. G. Edwards, noted that the technology sector that has taken a fall this week has been among the groups that have led the Dow’s 350-point rally since the end of April. “They’ve been one of the leaders, and all of a sudden they’re weakening,” he said.

Market highlights:

* Texas Instruments’ plunge exacerbated a tech-stock selloff already under way. Motorola tumbled 3 1/4 to 81 1/2, Intel dropped 2 5/8 to 45 1/8, Conner Peripherals fell 2 to 27 3/4, AST Research lost 1 3/4 to 22, Western Digital gave up 1 1/8 to 12 1/8 and IBM fell 2 3/8 to 117 5/8.

* Oil and oil-service stocks were mixed, after strong gains earlier in the week. Exxon lost 1 3/8 to 48 5/8 and Arco fell 2 to 123 1/2, but Chevron rose 3/4 to 77 1/2 and Halliburton added 3/8 to 51 3/4.

* Despite the broad-based selling, many stocks that have shown strong earnings momentum attracted buyers. Among Southland issues that fit that category, Amgen rose 1 to 84 3/4, American Ecology jumped 1 1/2 to 11 3/4, Vons added 1/8 to 23 and Syncor Intl. rose 1/4 to 10 1/4.

Stocks plunged in Tokyo on futures-related arbitrage selling and talk of a stock scandal, dealers said. The key 225-share Nikkei average tumbled 634.10 points or 1.92% to 32,421.52.

Stock prices ended higher in London, where trading proceeded uninterrupted despite an Irish Republican Army bomb explosion at the exchange. No one was hurt in the blast. The Financial Times 100-share index ended up 12.8 points at 2,400.1. In Frankfurt, shares fell as traders took profits from strong gains earlier in the week. The DAX index of 30 blue chips ended the day 9.81 points lower at 1,947.43.

CREDIT

Bonds Rise Slightly in Light Trading Bond prices rose a bit in light activity, as traders held ground despite uncertainty over the federal budget. The Treasury’s benchmark 30-year bond rose 3/16 point, or $1.88 per $1,000. Its yield slipped to 8.53% from 8.55% Thursday.

The modest rally followed three consecutive declines in bond prices that lifted 30-year bond yields from 8.45% earlier this week.

Kathleen Camilli, chief economist for Ramirez Capital Consultants, said a report by the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia indicated that regional economic conditions had softened considerably. That led to speculation that the purchasing managers survey due for release on Aug. 1 would point to economic deterioration.

The federal funds rate, the interest rate banks charge each other on overnight loans, was quoted at 8%, unchanged from Thursday.

CURRENCY

Dollar Mixed Amid Economic Concerns The dollar turned in a mixed performance, ending slightly lower in domestic trading against every major currency but the Japanese yen and Canadian dollar.

Karen Gibbs, futures analyst at Dean Witter Reynolds in Chicago, said currency trading was light and choppy, largely because of uncertainty about the U.S. economy.

Masayuki Takaura, senior foreign exchange manager at Sanwa Bank Ltd. in London, said the yen was due for a modest correction after recent gains.

In Tokyo, the dollar rose to 148.35 yen from 147.60 Thursday. The dollar was quoted later in London at 148.90 yen. In New York, the dollar rose to 148.65 yen from 148.09 Thursday.

COMMODITIES

Soybean Prices Sag on Rain Forecast Soybean futures prices fell sharply on the Chicago Board of Trade amid forecasts for a weekend of beneficial rain in the Midwest, where crop weather has been nearly perfect.

Soybean futures settled 13.5 to 19 cents lower, with the contract for delivery in August at $5.91 a bushel, lowest since June 15.

Crude oil futures were mostly higher, largely because of technical factors.

The August contract for West Texas Intermediate crude rose 62 cents to $19.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising 44 cents Thursday. But contract prices for later months were up by far less or down slightly. Frank Knuettel, analyst at Prudential-Bache Securities, said this shows that the trading was dominated by technical factors.

Traders said rumors circulated that OPEC had agreed to limit production until crude prices reach $20 a barrel. The rumors may have helped boost prices. The OPEC ministers are to meet next Thursday to discuss production cuts.