STOCKS lost ground yesterday as investors called time out after the market's recent string of records and also on disappointment that Intel Corp. shares fell despite the company's strong earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average snapped a four session streak of record closes.

In the broader market, advancing issues led declines 1,257 to 1,256 on active volume of 524 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Nasdaq Composite index was off 12.83 at 1,333.53, or nearly 1 per cent, as technology stocks were especially hard hit, reversing their powerful gains on Tuesday.

"Today was a mirror image of yesterday," said Mr Tom Carpenter, managing director at ASB Capital Management Inc. "Let's face it, there have been phenomenal returns in stocks."

The NYSE Composite index of all listed common stocks fell 0.03 to 405.04. The average share was unchanged.