Dow regains 74
after report

NEW YORK - Stocks ended a three-session losing streak today with help from an economic report bolstering the outlook for steady, noninflationary growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 74.17 points to 7,922.18, wiping out half of its 150-point loss over the prior three sessions.

Advancers beat decliners by an 8-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,771 up, 1,089 down and 544 unchanged. NYSE volume was 501.69 million shares vs. 524.92 million yesterday.

Broader stock indicators were also put in their best performance since Monday as bonds rebounded from yesterday's stumble, sending interest rates lower again.

The Standard & Poor's 500 list rose 7.31 to 945.22, and the NYSE index gained 3.68 to 495.20. The Nasdaq index rose 3.35 to 1,682.24, and the American Stock Exchange index closed up 4.60 at 689.84. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.96 to 448.88.

The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was up 15/32 point, or $4.69 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield fell to 6.36 percent from 6.40 percent late yesterday. Bonds rose in the morning after the government's latest calculation of second-quarter economic activity unexpectedly revealed a slower rate of growth than earlier estimates. The Commerce Department said the gross domestic product grew at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 3.6 percent.

The revised tally represents a more substantial drop from the 4.9 percent rate in the first quarter, a sizzling pace that led the Federal Reserve to raise one of its key lending rates in late March to help ease consumer spending and other inflationary pressures.

The markets retreated yesterday after a series of robust economic readings stoked worries the Fed may intervene again, potentially slowing company profits.

Fed officials are scheduled to meet on Tuesday for one of their periodic strategy discussions, but few analysts expect the central bankers to take any action yet.