Technology and small-company issues recovered from some profit-taking to lead some indexes to new records, but trading remained hesitant in advance of some key economic data due later this week.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.33 to finish at 5,569.08, after dropping almost 28 points earlier in the session. It was the fourth straight session that the blue-chip index ended with a change of less than 15 points.

Decliners led advancers by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,175 up, 1,204 down and 760 unchanged.

NYSE volume totaled 393.18 million shares vs. 342.53 million in the previous session.

Much of the Dow's weakness was the result of a drop in oil prices, which hurt the average's three oil stocks, but the index suffered again from fears of looming inflation and higher interest rates.

The Nasdaq composite index and the Russell 2000 list of smaller companies reached their ninth straight record finishes as those issues recovered from some early profit-taking. The Nasdaq rose 1.62 to 1,189.82, while the Russell 2000 gained 0.06 to 348.28.

In other broad markets, the NYSE composite was unchanged at 351.24 and the S&P 500 index rose 0.02 to 654.18.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index fell 1.85 to 590.90.

Bond prices fell sharply, with long-term interest rates nearing 6.9 percent.