Blue-Chip stocks pulled back yesterday, halting the Dow's eight-session winning streak, but smaller-company shares perked up as Wall Street remained mired in a pre-New Year's slumber.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 46.34 points - or 0.5 per cent - to 9,274.64, almost exactly 100 points below the November 23rd record of 9,374.27.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 9.88 to 1,231.93, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 14.83 to 2,166.94 as high-flying Internet stocks succumbed to profit-taking for a second session. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a narrow margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 2,151 up, 2,085 down and 905 unchanged.