The Dow Jones industrial average was down 6.86 at 5,682.88, easing off its record closing high on Wednesday of 5,689.74.

Decliners led advancers by 1,197 to 1,066 on the New York Stock Exchange. Big Board volume totaled 382.01 million shares vs. 386.54 million in the previous session.

Broad-market indexes were mixed. The NYSE composite rose 0.11 to 351.92. The S&P 500 list fell 0.02 to 655.86, while the Nasdaq composite rose 2.25 to 1,118.10.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index rose 2.78 to 577.10.

The long bond was off one-half point and yielding 6.66 percent, extending its morning loss.

Trading in both markets was very quiet ahead of Friday, when the government is scheduled to release March unemployment and job-creation data. The markets are particularly anxious about these numbers because a huge run-up in February job creation caused a 171-point drop in the Dow on March 8.

Investors are counting on the numbers to show a slow but steady growth in the economy, which should support another interest-rate easing by the Federal Reserve.

The market will be closed in observance of Good Friday, so stock investors will not have an opportunity to respond to the numbers until Monday. But investors said there will likely be a delayed reaction, no matter what the numbers show.