Dow cuts loss
to 28 in late rally

NEW YORK -- Stocks staged a stunning late-session rally today, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining nearly 200 points in the last two hours, to close with only modest declines. The strengthening dollar against the yen and some computerized buying program helped reverse the slide.

The Dow fell 27.86 to close at 10,275.53 after having fallen more than 222 points early in the afternoon. It marked the Dow's fifth drop in six sessions.

Broader stock indicators also fell slightly today. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 1.11 at 1,282.20, and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 5.50 at 2,756.25.

Decliners led advancers by a 9-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,100 up, 1,883 down and 530 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 881.30 million shares, vs. 783.51 million yesterday.

The NYSE composite lost 1.54 to 590.08; the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 6.38 to 772.85; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.37 to 418.49.

The 30-year Treasury bond fell for a second day, by 1 point or $10 per $1,000 face amount; its yield rose 7 basis points to 6.08 percent.

Traders turned more positive when they saw the dollar make headway against the Japanese yen. "We saw the dollar getting stronger against the yen and that's what turned things around," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "It was a huge psychological barrier."

Hogan said computerized buying programs also kicked in after the Dow fell more than 200 points.