THE Dow Jones industrial average suffered its worst loss yesterday since July's big sell-off after a late wave of profit-taking.

The Dow lost 79.01 points to close at 6,442.69, having surrendered a 33-point morning gain that briefly put the blue-chip barometer into record territory. It was the biggest one-day loss since the Dow's 161-point dive on July 15th, which came amid worries about inflation and corporate profits.

Stocks opened higher as Treasury bonds rallied on an improvement in the dollar and more signs that the US economy may be, slowing enough to contain inflation without an increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

Advances outnumbered declines by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,301 up, 1,217 down and 816 unchanged.

NYSE volume totaled 515.65 million shares, against 412.48 million in the previous session.