US stocks endured a lacklustre session yesterday as traders, chastened by Tuesday's big drop, refrained from placing any big bets. Nato's launching of air strikes against Yugoslavia had no apparent effect on the market.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4.99 points to 9,666.84, after trading in a narrow range all day. Worries that earnings wouldn't meet expectations pushed the Dow 218.68 lower on Tuesday, dealing the blue-chip index its second-biggest point loss this year.

But the Nasdaq composite turned in a stronger day, finishing up 42.44 points to 2,365.28, as technology stocks turned around. The Nasdaq, heavily weighted in high-tech stocks, has been weaker recently as investors worried that computer-related companies might report disappointing first-quarter earnings.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 6.45 to 1,268.59. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 1,524 to 1,445 on the NYSE, with 565 unchanged.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.03 to 384.40.