A rally in technology shares in New York today helped two broad stock market indicators set records for a fourth time this week.
But the Dow industrials faltered for the first time in three days as traders paused to take profits on blue-chip stocks.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 23.86 points - or by 0.2 per cent - to close at 10,173.84. The average of 30 blue-chip stocks soared to record levels three times this week.
Despite today's decline, the Dow is up 341.33 since last Friday and by nearly 11 per cent so far this year.
The Nasdaq composite index added to Thursday's record with its 19.66-point climb to 2,593.05.
Also vaulting to a new high for the fourth time this week was the Standard and Poor's 500-stock index, rising 4.37 to 1,348.35.
The NYSE composite index rose 2.31 at 626.59, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 5.57 at 727.50. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.97 at 405.86.
