Stocks staged a stunning late-session rally yesterday, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining nearly 200 points in the last two hours, to close with only modest declines.

The strengthening dollar against the yen and some computerised buying program helped reverse the market's slide.

At the close on Wall Street, the Dow was down 27.86 at 10,275.53 after having fallen more than 222 points early in the afternoon. It marked the Dow's fifth drop in six sessions.

Broader stock indicators also fell slightly.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by an eight-to-seven margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,232 up, 1,898 down and 514 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 876.95 million shares at the close against 776.24 million in the previous session.