THE Dow Jones industrial average reached a record high but stocks faltered in an enthusiastic follow through to Friday's rally, ending mixed as interest rates rose again in a jittery bond market.
On Wall Street the Dow rose 23.09 points to close at 6,567.18, enough to surpass December 27th's all time best close at 6,560.91, after retreating from a 75 point gain that boosted the blue chip barometer above 6,600 for the first time.
Broader measures also pulled back along with bonds as rising oil prices aggravated renewed inflation concerns and growing challenges to Newt Gingrich's bid to remain Speaker of the House of Representatives spurred worries about continued deficit reduction by the Republican led Congress.
Advances outnumbered decliners by a 5 to 4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,434 up, 1,130 down and 785 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 527.10 million shares, against 451.95 million in the previous session.
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