THE Dow Jones Industrial Average made its biggest move yet past 10,000 today, but stumbled once again and failed to make its first close above the five-digit milestone.
Weakness in IBM and dozens of smaller technology stocks deflated a Wall Street rally that had carried the Dow all the way to 10,085.31 in the first hour of trading.
At the market's close, the Dow was down 94.07 points - or by 0.9 per cent - at 9,903.55. Broader stock indicators were lower as well. The Dow has struggled to extend its stay above the 10,000 milestone since crossing it for the first time on Tuesday.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 14.36 to 1,302.19, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 41.64 to 2,421.32.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller firms fell 2.97 to 396.58.