WALL Street stocks fell for the fourth day in a row yesterday as investors fretting about inflation and weak company earnings sold their holdings. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 43.98 points, closing below 6,000 for the first time since October 11th.

Stocks fell with bonds at the opening after the US Labour Department said the number of American workers making first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 22,000 last week to the lowest level in nearly two months.

Declines outnumbered advances by 1,229 to 1,112 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 902 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 415.02 million shares, against 439.64 million in the previous session.

The NYSE composite index fell 2.13 to 373.78. The Standard and Poor's 500-stock index fell 4.98 to 702.29. The American Stock Exchange's market value index fell 0.93 to 569.80, but the Nasdaq composite rose 0.20 to 1,228.08.