Wall Street slips, as European shares pause

The S&P 500 ended lower today, breaking a seven-session string of increases as investors pulled back from technology and financial shares, but the Dow eked out a gain for an eighth straight day.

The Dow registered yet another record high close, after also hitting a lifetime intraday high, while the the S&P 500 remains within reach of its all-time closing high of 1,565.15, set on Oct. 9, 2007.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose just 2.77 points, or 0.02 percent, to 14,450.06, another record close. Earlier, the Dow climbed to a lifetime intraday high of 14,478.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 3.74 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 1,552.48 - about 13 points below its record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 10.55 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 3,242.32.

European shares steadied today, taking their cues from a mixed showing on Wall Street and pausing for breath before what technical analysts say could be a push to fresh multi-year highs.

After jittering either side of the no-change mark, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 provisionally closed flat on the day at 1,194.18 points.

The pan-European index set a 4-1/2 year high of 1,197.73 at the end of last week, bolstered by a series of record highs on the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was down 0.1 percent at the European close today.