The Dow Jones industrials closed at a record high for the second straight day yesterday but the rest of the US stock market lagged as investors took profits, especially in technology shares.
On Wall Street, the Dow rose 55.50 points - or 0.5 per cent - to close at 10,395.01, topping Monday's close.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 8.81 to 1,349.83, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 15.34 to 2,583.47.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 1,554 to 1,488 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 538 unchanged.
NYSE volume totalled 665.46 million shares compared to 657.81 million in the previous session.
The NYSE composite index fell 1.96 to 631.17, but the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.59 to 736.91.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.95 to 417.27.
Investors bought the shares of economically-sensitive companies such as basic materials processors and manufacturers, which sent the Dow higher. But they also shed technology shares, aside from Internet-related stocks, for a second day.
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