STOCKS ended lower for the third day in a row yesterday as the market remained under a cloud following Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan's comments about high stock prices and hints about an interest rate rise.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 47.33 points at 6,877.74. For the week, the index lost 53.88 points.

In the broader market, declining issues beat advances 1,454 to 1,027 on active volume of 508 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Nasdaq Composite index fell 3.66 points to 1,309.00. The Standard & Poor's composite index of 500 stocks lost 4.25 points at 790.82.