Prices were mixed on Wall Street yesterday as investors again sold technology stocks but bought financial issues in response to a drop in interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average reached its third straight record high close. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a five-to-four margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,670 up, 1,309 down and 560 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 962.45 million shares against 942.36 million in the previous session. The NYSE composite index fell 2.23 to 638.09, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.31 to 779.00. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.67 to 432.86.

But unlike the trading pattern in recent days, the upside leaders were not confined to cyclical issues. Financial stocks were climbing aggressively as fresh data showing benign inflation pushed interest rates lower in the bond market.