Dow up 17.73

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Stock prices were mixed today as investor optimism about second-quarter earnings gave way to nagging concerns about interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 17.73 at 10,552.56 after having risen more than 115 points earlier in the session. The blue-chip index shed 303 points during the week, as investors worried about interest rates and corporate profits. Broader market indicators were mostly lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.47 to 1,315.31, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 1.34 to 2,552.65.

Advancers barely beat decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,504 up, 1,421 down and 586 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 613.30 million shares vs. 691.82 million yesterday.

The NYSE composite index fell 0.63 to 623.34, but the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.87 to 772.02. The Russell 2000 index fell 0.05 to 443.11.

The 30-year bond rose 1/4 point, or $2.50 per $1,000 face amount, to a price of 87 28/32. Its yield fell 2 basis points to 6.14 percent.

Stock prices initially rose today after the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, slightly better than the 4.1 percent estimated in May. Investors seemed to interpret the gross domestic product report as portending healthy second-

quarter corporate earnings.

But volume was paltry throughout the session. Traders said the sluggishness was typical of a summer Friday, but was especially low as investors awaited the meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to raise rates then.

"We started out well based on the economic news, but there was simply no strong follow-through," said Tony Cecin, director of institutional trading at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. "No one wants to go into this weekend with a major new position," Cecin said.