The Dow Jones drifted to a slightly weaker close yesterday when blue chips ran out of steam after conquering the 9000 point milestone for the first time.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index, a more representative indicator of the market, and the Nasdaq edged to record closes as a drop in March payrolls soothed inflation hawks.

The Dow stuck its head above the 9000 mark just after trading began, but then drifted between positive and negative terrain for the rest of the session.

"There is a little bit of disappointment that the market was not more dynamic with all the good news that was out," said an analyst.