The Dow swung in a range of about 60 points in light trading as investors increased their buying of safe-haven assets like the dollar and Treasurys. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against other currencies, edged higher.

"People are reaching for a little less risk today after we've had such a run," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management.

Record-low interest rates in the U.S. and the resulting slide in the dollar have been major forces behind the surge in stocks in recent months. A weaker dollar allows investors to borrow money cheaply, while the low interest rates also encourage them to hold any assets other than low-yielding cash, such as stocks, commodities and bonds.

The falling dollar has enabled many investors to look past some of the economy's persistent trouble spots, including unemployment. The jobless rate rose to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level in 26 years.

A number of market watchers still believe the recent surge in stocks has been overdone given the weaknesses that remain in the economy, such as the large amounts of souring loans on banks' balance sheets.

Still, some analysts said the market's ability to hold its gains is a welcome sign. Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, said it is encouraging that the market is holding its gains and isn't as volatile as last month when big advances would be followed by big drops. He said a day of modest moves is a healthful sign of a market consolidating its gains.

"It's kind of what you call a coffee day," he said, referring to the market's small moves. "We expect that we'll continue to stair-step higher to the end of the year." According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 20.03, or 0.2 percent, to 10,246.97, its fourth straight advance and its highest close since Oct. 3, 2008. The Dow traded up to 10,260.80, a 12-month.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.07, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,093.01, after six straight days of gains. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.98, or 0.1 percent, to 2,151.08.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.1 billion shares, compared with 1.2 billion Monday.

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