Dow up 16.73,
small-company stocks
keep climbing

NEW YORK -- Smaller-company stocks coasted to another record high today, but efforts to reignite the blue-chips sector faltered again amid nagging worries about inflation and company profits.

In a repeat performance of yesterday's weak finish, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.73 points to close at 7,851.91 after holding a 63 point gain about an hour before the close. Yesterday, the Dow gained just 12 points after a late pullback wiped out most of a 58-point gain.

Advancers beat decliners by a 9-to-7 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,604 up, 1,250 down and 560 unchanged. NYSE volume was 502.10 million shares vs. 466.44 million yesterday.

Broader indicators also struggled toward today's close after another robust reading on retail sales aggravated worries about inflationary consumer demand.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list climbed 2.42 to 933.62, and the NYSE composite index rose 0.91 to 486.69. The Nasdaq composite index rose 10.86 to 1,652.21, its third consecutive closing high.

The Russell 2000 rose 1.76 to 437.75 for its 12th consecutive winning session, a streak that's boosted the small-company benchmark by 5 percent.

The American Stock Exchange composite index, also dominated by smaller companies, rose 0.76 to 671.43 for its sixth consecutive record close.

Meanwhile, the price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was down 5/32 point, or $1.56 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield rose to 6.62 percent from 6.61 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.