Stocks Fade As Dollar Weakens, Bond Prices Dip

The stock market fell for a second day Thursday, pulled further from a record high reached earlier in the week as a weaker dollar and lower bond prices undermined the market’s strength.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 92.75 points Thursday to close at 6,927.38. But analysts said the market’s run to a high of 7,067 Tuesday was overdone and that the recent drop was a short-term setback.

“It’s a time out, not a top out,” said Alfred E. Goldman, vice president at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was 490.268 million compared with 519.298 million on Wednesday.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday:

NYSE

Hi-Lo Automotive Inc. up 3/4 to 3-1/2.

A filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that an investment group seeking the sale of the Houston-based autoparts concern proposed forming a committee to search for a potential buyer.

Allmerica Financial Corp., up 1-5/8 at 39-1/2.

The Worcester, Mass.-based company said it will buy out the rest of Allmerica Property & Casualty Cos. for $800 million. Allmerica Financial will pay $33 a share for the 40.5 percent, or 24.2 million shares, of Allmerica Property it doesn’t already own.

Motorola Inc., down 2-7/8 to 59-3/4.

Motorola settled its patent infringement claim against Rockwell International Corp. Under the settlement, Rockwell has secured licenses for the patents in question and may be required to secure additional licenses in the future.

NASDAQ

CompuServe Corp., up 1/4 to 10-3/4.

The nation’s second-biggest online service provider said it lost $14.2 million in the latest quarter in contrast to a $9.4 million profit a year earlier. The loss was expected by Wall Street and fell within the range of analysts’ forecasts.

Amerco, down 6-7/8 to 28-1/8.

The owner of U-Haul International Inc. reported a much wider-than-expected loss for its third quarter.

Tele-Communications International Inc., down 3/16 to 14-3/8.

The company said Thursday it has agreed to buy out its joint-venture partner in the Puerto Rico cable concern Caguas/Humacao Cable Systems.

Cyrix Corp., up 3-7/8 to 29-3/8.

Stock rose on the news that Compaq Computer Corp. is using Cyrix’s low-cost chips for its new $999 personal computer. Cyrix has struggled to gain market share with its low-cost alternative to Intel’s dominant Pentium microprocessors.