NEW YORK - Stocks resumed their end-of-summer slump today as concerns about inflation and interest rates were compounded by a dismal earnings outlook from Sears, Roebuck & Co. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 94.67 to close at 10,843.21, having worked its way back from a loss of 205 points earlier in the session. Dow off 94.67
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 11.96 to 1,319.11, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 16.56 to 2,734.24.
Decliners beat advancers by a 12-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,076 down, 835 up and 583 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 690.17 million shares vs. 702.43 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index slipped 5.96 to 611.33; the American Stock Exchange lost 3.98 points to 779.21; and the Russell 2000 index fell 3.57 to 427.42.
The 30-year Treasury bond price fell 3/4 point, or $7.50 per $1,000; Its yield rose to 6.13 percent from 6.08 percent yesterday.
Stocks and bonds tumbled as a slew of bad news hit Wall Street a day before the government is scheduled to issue a key report on the economy. Above all, investors were rattled by continuing fears that the Federal Reserve has not yet completed its efforts to ward off inflation by imposing higher interest rates. Those fears escalated today as Federal Reserve Gov. Edward Kelley told Market News International it would be premature to assume the Fed will wait until next year to raise rates again. The Fed raised rates June 30 and Aug. 24, providing a temporary lift to the market both times as hopes grew that the central bank would make no further moves. But sporadic hints of inflationary pressures have kept the Fed on alert.