Hopes Dim for Rate Cut, Pushing Dow Dow n 16
NEW YORK, Feb. 27ÛÓGrowing optimism among consumers meant less optimism among investors hoping for lower interest rates, and resulted in another weak day in the stock market today as bonds continued to stumble.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.89 points to close at 5549.21. But that was an improvement from a decline that exceeded 55 points at mid-aftemoon. The index of blue-chip companies now has fallen two straight sessions after returning to record territory on Thursday and Friday.</br></br>Broad-market indexes moved lower too, although strength in the technology sector helped limit the Nasdaq Stock MarketÛªs decline.</br></br>Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by almost 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 431.3 million shares, up from MondayÛªs 399.3 million shares.</br></br>647.24,	the Nasdaq composite index declined 6.88 to 1106.17 and the American Stock ExchangeÛªs market value index slipped 1.49 to 563.86.