Around the World's Markets: New York

WALL STREET used an earnings warning from Gillette as an excuse to take some profits from blue chips, and US stocks ended mostly lower.

The Dow Jones closed off 43.84 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 9963.49. The Nasdaq gained 3.09 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 2563.15. The S&P was off 3.2 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 1317.89. Analysts said investors were generally reluctant to push the Dow much further above 10,000 without a fundamental reason.