The Dow Jones industrial average bounded to a new closing high yesterday but stopped short of 10,000 as a new round of corporate mergers sent stock prices higher.

The Dow closed up 82.42 points - or by 0.8 per cent - at 9,958.77. The index of blue-chip stocks, which has flirted with its next milestone in recent sessions, came within 30 points before giving up ground.

The Nasdaq composite index, driven by technology issues, was up 49.92 at 2,431.45. Advancing issues and decliners were nearly even on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 724.5 million shares, well off Friday's pace.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index was up 12.27 at 1,306.86, also a record. The NYSE composite index was up 3.68 at 615.22, and the American Stock Exchange composite index was down 0.30 at 720.91.