Inflation pressure on sales

WALL STREET stocks ended mixed yesterday, rebounding from steeper losses as some late bargain hunting off set continued nervousness about rising US interest rates and inflationary pressures.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrial stocks fell 13.72 points to close at 5,464.31, rebounding from a loss of 55 earlier in the afternoon.

The Dow, which lost about 90 points last week as new signs of strong economic growth aggravated concerns about inflation, has now fallen nearly 4% from its all time high set just over a month ago.