WALL Street stocks were almost unchanged after retreating from a broad advance in this week's rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose less than a point after gaining almost 50 points earlier in the session.

On Tuesday, the barometer of 130 big US companies added about 42 points, breaking above the 5,600 mark for the first time in four weeks, but the rebound in the blue chip sector stumbled today as bonds failed to follow through on their recent strength.

Advances outnumbered declines by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,233 up, 1,156 down and 766 unchanged.

The NYSE's composite rose 0.12 to 356.64, the index's third consecutive record close, but the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.19 to 665.41, ending a two day string of new highs. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.02 to 1,234.47, ending a three day streak of new highs.