Dow Dips As Markets Take Pause

Stocks edged lower Monday as investors paused in a two-week buying spree that’s boosted some indexes to new highs and put the Dow Jones industrial average on the verge of its first record in six months.

The Dow, up nearly 500 points over the prior 10 sessions, slipped just 8.97 to 8,180.52 after recovering from a 47-point slide. An early 27-point gain briefly put the Dow within 50 points of its Aug. 6 record close of 8,259.31.

Most broad-market indicators also posted narrow losses, although smaller-company measures, which have lagged in the recent rally, managed some minor gains.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the New York Stock Exchange composite index, which had closed at new highs in four of the past five sessions, edged further into record territory early Monday before pulling back.

“We were due for a down day. The S&P 500 has advanced by 9 percent in the past four weeks,” said Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co. of Greenwich, Conn.

Declining issues barely outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 542.54 million, the lowest tally since the first trading day of the new year.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday:

NYSE

General Motors, up 2-3/8 at 62-15/16.

The automaker announced plans to buy back up to $4 billion worth, or about 10 percent, of its stock over the next 12 months. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of 50 cents a share, payable on March 10.

America Online, up 11-15/16 at 110-7/16.

The online service is raising its monthly access fees by 10 percent to $21.95, effective with the April billing cycle.

American Waste Services, up 1-5/8 at 3-5/8.

USA Waste Services agreed to acquire Warren, Ohio-based American Waste in a deal announced late Friday.

NASDAQ Oracle, up 11/16 at 27-11/16.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter raised its rating on the database software company to “outperform” from “neutral,” Dow Jones News Service reported.

Geotek Communications, up 23/32 at 1-21/32.

The company announced an agreement establishing Next Wireless as the first nationwide distributor of Geotek’s vehicle tracking, radio dispatch, cellular telephony and data communications services.