December 9, 1985

If there is a single emotion that united all factions today at the close of the extraordinary Synod of Roman Catholic Bishops here, it was one of relief. The relief was bred by an outcome in which no one was clearly the victor and no one was openly vanquished. For the Vatican and the bishops, as well for liberals, conservatives and those not readily classified, the conduct of the Synod and its final documents offered ample ground for expressions of contentment. ''Who won the Synod?'' asked Bernard Cardinal Law, the conservative Archbishop of Boston. ''I think the church won the Synod.''

In its heyday three decades ago, Inco Ltd. produced 85 percent of the world's supply of nickel, setting the price almost as a matter of divine right. But in recent years, Inco - along with the other big mineral companies in the United States and Canada -has been staggered by stiff new foreign competition, largely from third world producers. The world's nickel capacity has surged just as demand turned sluggish, driving prices downward since 1980. Tin and copper have plummeted as well, and the precious metals - gold, silver and platinum -are also far below their highs. For Inco, the harsh new environment translated into $1 billion (United States) in total losses from 1981 through most of 1984. But since the fourth quarter of last year, the Toronto-based company has been in the black, despite the continued price slump in metals. During the first nine months of 1985, it managed to earn $44.6 million.

Leading a tour of high school students and their parents around Wesleyan College, David Silverberg took a deep breath and began to enumerate his school's charms. ''One of the best aspects of the atmosphere at Wesleyan,'' Mr. Silverberg, a personable sophomore, said, ''is that the majority of students here are --'' ''Sick,'' a young woman walking past called out, finishing his sentence with a sly smile. Mr. Silverberg recovered quickly. ''The majority of students here are very candid and not afraid to say what they feel, as you can see,'' he told his group, ''which makes the school looser and more easygoing and, at the same time, more challenging academically.'' Balloons and a Message The great college courtship is under way. In a crazed flurry of activity, New York's high school seniors are shopping for schools, and colleges from Berkeley, Calif., to Brunswick, Me., are wooing the city's students - a group that always includes a particularly high number of bright and competitive applicants.

A dispatch from Rome yesterday about the Roman Catholic Synod of Bishops was accompanied by a translation of the Synod's final report. In some copies printed early, parts of the translation were imprecise.

A headline Saturday on an article about Jaguar Cars Inc. misstated the amount the company has been fined for failing to meet federally mandated fuel economy standards. It was $6 million.