Stocks fell sharply in New York yesterday as bond yields rose and investors, seeking clues to the future course of interest rates, braced themselves for another round of economic data.

At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 176.04 points at 10,914.13, a loss of 1.6 per cent.

Broader stock indicators also fell. But trading volume was very light, which tends to exaggerate price moves.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 24.25 to 1,324.02, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 46.20 to 2,712.70.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 5-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,151 down, 861 up and 517 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 595.57 million shares, against 553.19 million in the previous session.