STOCKS rose modestly yesterday pulling back from the day's highs as investors secured some profits on the past two sessions before next week's economic reports and Federal Reserve meeting.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 10.77 points to close at 6813.09, retreating from a 50 point extension of the blue chip barometer's 168 point rally over the past two sessions.

Broader measures ended higher, but gave back much of their early advance, spurred by a drop in bond market interest rates.

Bonds rallied despite a Commerce Department report revealing the economy grew at 4.7 per cent growth rate in the last quarter of 1996.