THE Dow Jones industrials succumbed to pressure from the bond market yesterday, falling for the second day in a row.

Bonds fell early in the session after the US government released data showing spots of strong growth in the economy.

The Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders rose 2.1 per cent in November and December, exceeding analysts' predictions of a 0.5 per cent gain.

Declines led advances by 10 to 9 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,108 up, 1,230 down and 765 unchanged.

Big Board volume totalled 410.36 million shares, against 416.8 million on Wednesday.

The NYSE's composite index fell 1.59 to 347.76. The Standard and Poor's 500-stock index fell 4.24 to 651.34.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.22 to 1,088.25.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index fell 0.62 to 560.36.