Dow Fumbles .99 as Crude Oil Prices Climb : Stocks: Weakness in overseas stock markets and a report showing of the U.S. economy combined to trigger inflation jitters on Wall Street.

Stock prices slipped today in light trading as oil prices continued to climb and a report indicated further erosion in the U.S. economy, traders said.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials fell 0.99 point to 2,613.37.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing by about 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 657 up, 805 down and 488 unchanged.

Big Board volume totaled 92.94 million shares, against 96.48 million in the previous session.

The NYSE’s composite index fell 0.16 to 177.13.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index fell 0.65 to 322.74.

Analysts said the market was concerned about the inflationary effect of higher oil prices. The October contract for crude was up $1.78 to $29.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at midafternoon.

Investors also were troubled by weakness in overseas stock markets and signs that the U.S. economy is continuing to slow, said Thomas R. Walsh, head of equity trading at Nikko Securities Co. International Inc. in New York.

In one such sign, the National Assn. of Purchasing Management said today that its purchasing managers’ index declined in August for the second consecutive month, to 47.% from 47.4% in July. A reading below 50 indicates the manufacturing sector of the economy generally is declining.

Continuing pessimism over the Middle East sent prices plummeting on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei Stock Average, which fell 557.94 points Monday, shed 512.79 more points, or 2.20%, closing at 24,907.64.

Prices also closed lower on the London Stock Exchange, but the key index, the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100-share index, fell only 0.86%.

Bond prices fell in early trading today, responding to rising crude oil prices.

The Treasury’s benchmark 30-year bond was down 11/32 point, or $3.44 per $1,000 face amount, in moderate trading around midday. Its yield, which rises when prices fall, rose to 9.01% from 8.98% late Friday.

The nation’s financial markets were closed Monday for Labor Day.

Kevin Flanagan, a money market economist for Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., said the prospect of inflation because of higher oil prices pushed bonds lower. Inflation erodes the value of fixed-income securities.

The price of the benchmark grade of U.S. crude was up $1.41 to $28.73 per 42-gallon barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning.