Dow ekes out .5 gain;
fourth-straight record

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average edged a half point higher today to notch its fourth straight record, but most stocks fell as a second day of declines on Asian markets fueled doubts about that region's recovery efforts.

The Dow rose 0.50 point to close at 8,370.10 as a last-minute push wiped out the remnants of an early 57-point slide. The Dow gained 180.61 points for the week.

Decliners led advancers by a 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,373 up, 1,520 down and 538 unchanged. NYSE volume was 531.03 million shares vs. 608.41 million yesterday.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 4.05 to 1,020.09, and the NYSE composite index fell 1.33 to 531.28. Yesterday both measures closed at record highs for the seventh time in nine sessions.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 3.92 to 1,710.42, but still boasts an 8.5 percent gain for the past three weeks. Smaller-company indicators, which have lagged the blue-chip rally, managed some slender gains. The Russell 200 index rose 1.89 to 454.29, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.73 to 688.88.

The price of the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rose 5/16 point, or $3.125 per $1,000 in face value. Its yield dropped to 5.84 percent from 5.87 percent late yesterday.

Stocks were weighed down at the open by another shaky day in Asia, with the main stock indexes in Hong Kong and the Philippines each dropping 3.3 percent. In Tokyo, stocks fell 2.2 percent.