Dow Falls Below 700 Level as Stocks Continue Plunge
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 17.83 points to close at 686.80. It was the lowest closing since July 8, 1970, when the average finished at 682.09.</br></br>The bulk of the lossÛÓwhich carried through most industry groupsÛÓwas absorbed in the last two and a half hours of trading, after a brief attempt at a rally failed to attract any support. Once the downtrend was firmly established, the selling picked up some speed, punctuated only by brief pauses rather than any attempt at halting the decline.</br></br>Analysts generally attributed the brief loss to the DowÛªs break under the 700 level, which has little significance except for its psychological effect. They also nofed that the steadiest selling rolled into the market shortly after news wires carried a report ihat President Ford plans no major economic initiatives until after the economic ÛÏsummit conferenceÛ in the fall. The inflationary spiral and the high level of interest ^ates are considered the two chief reasons for the marketÛªs steady decline, which has taken the Dow industrials down more than 108</br></br>One news item which it was hoped might encourage traders failed to have any effect. First National City Bank of New York said early in the day it would hold its prime lending rate at 12 per cent, although its formula calls for an increase to 12% per cent.</br></br>Broader-based market averages also shewed steep losses. The New York SÛ÷ock Exchange index gave up 0.65 point today, closing at 37.55, while