Market Yields to Late Selling; Dow Off 12.70

NEW YORK —  The stock market closed out its second straight week of losses with another decline Friday, yielding to a barrage of selling in the final moments of trading.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, off just a fraction heading into the last half-hour of the session, closed with a 12.70-point loss at 1,247.35. For the week, the average had a net decline of 22.31 points.

Friday’s volume on the New York Stock Exchange came to 105.19 million shares, against 103.35 million Thursday.

Analysts said it appeared that professional traders caught up in complex transactions involving stock-index options were behind the sell-off.

They also said that they did not believe that it had any link to the temporary closing of some Ohio savings institutions announced early Friday.

The news touched off an apparent “flight to safety” in the credit markets, with heavy buying of short-term Treasury bills at the start of trading.

Stocks of most big banks and savings and loans showed only mixed and fractional price changes.

One exception was Texas Commerce Bankshares, which fell 3 1/2 to 36 3/4. The company said it expected its net income for the first quarter to come in at about 92 cents a share, down from $1.41 in the comparable period a year ago.

It cited problem loans in the energy industry as a primary factor behind the earnings decline.

Losers among the blue chips included International Business Machines, down at 128 5/8; DuPont, down 1 1/8 at 50 1/2; Merck, down 7/8 at 101, and Procter & Gamble, off 3/8 at 55 1/2.

K mart dropped 7/8 to 32 5/8 on top of a 1 5/8-point loss Thursday, when the company reported lower quarterly profits.

Thompson Medical, which estimated lower earnings for the quarter ended Feb. 28, fell 1 to 16.

Bond prices were mixed as interest rates retreated in quiet trading.

Yields on three-month Treasury bills in the secondary market fell 26 basis points to 8.46%. Six-month bills fell 19 basis points to 9.01%, and one-year bills fell 10 basis points to 9.18%.