Dow drops 92.9,
below 7,700

NEW YORK -- Stocks faltered near the close today after recovering from steep losses that had come amid revelations that inflationary pressures may not have eased as much as thought in recent months.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 92.90 points to close at 7,694.43. Less than an hour before the close, the Dow was up 25 points, having erased a 129-point loss that briefly pushed the blue-

chip barometer to its lowest level since late June.

Decliners led advancers by a slim 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,351 up, 1,498 down and 536 unchanged. NYSE volume was 486.22 million shares vs. 492.12 million yesterday.

Broad-market indicators also ran out of gas in the midst of the afternoon recovery. But smaller-

company shares, which have benefited from the recent exodus from the blue-chip sector, closed at a record high for the second straight session.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 10.04 to 903.66 despite wiping out an early 15-point slide, and the NYSE index fell 3.68 to 472.37. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 14.23 to 1,581.31.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.75 to 421.59, padding yesterday's record finish. The American Stock Exchange composite, also dominated by smaller companies, slipped just 0.43 to 650.69.

The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was up 30/32 point while the yields -- a benchmark for borrowing costs -- dropped to 6.57 percent from 6.65 percent yesterday.