Fears take 133
points from Dow

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average plunged today as another day without major news allowed the recent jitters about earnings and inflation to multiply.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 132.63 to 7,719.28, the blue-chip barometer's biggest drop since mid-August.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by more than a 5-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,053 up, 1,781 down and 557 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 516.75 million shares vs. 502.11 million yesterday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 14.59 to 919.03, and the NYSE composite index fell 6.06 to 480.63. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which closed at record highs the previous three sessions, fell 16.96 to 1,639.26.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.85 to 436.90. The index had risen for 12 straight sessions. The American Stock Exchange composite index, which is dominated by smaller companies, fell 1.16 to 670.27, ending its streak of record highs at six sessions.

The losses were heaviest among the blue chips. Those shares have been struggling over the past week amid worries about whether third-quarter profits will justify a full recovery to the lofty levels that preceded last month's downturn.

Of particular concern has been the recent turmoil in Asian markets, which could hurt the results of multinational concerns.

The market has also been dogged by continuing signs of surprising strength in the economy that pose inflationary risks and have made it less certain that the Federal Reserve won't try to slow things down with higher interest rates.

The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was down 13/32 point, or $4.06 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield rose to 6.66 percent from 6.62 percent late yesterday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.