The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.88 to close at 5,762.12. But the Dow would have shed another 20 points if not for a surge in Philip Morris Cos. shares on news of a court decision to block a major tobacco liability suit.

Decliners led advancers by about 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,003 up, 1,354 down and 815 unchanged.

NYSE volume totaled 431.34 million shares, vs. 420.57 million in the previous session.

Broad-market indexes also turned lower in the absence of new incentives for investors to bid a pricey market even higher.

The NYSE's composite fell 1.26 to 362.43. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 2.42 to 676.00. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.17 to 1,247.21 and the American Stock Exchange index was off 2.31 to 612.68, snapping a five-session streak of record-high closes.

"Profit-taking has set in after a glorious week," said A. Marshall Acuff Jr., market strategist at Smith Barney.

"Bonds are a little weak, which helped inspire more profit-taking with people thinking about the long holiday weekend."

The 30-year Treasury bond fell more than half a point and its yield a benchmark used to determine the interest on many corporate and consumer loans jumped to 6.86 percent from 6.81 percent late Wednesday.