A Commerce Department report that orders for big-ticket items from the nation’s factories fell by 1.8 percent in January limited investors’ enthusiasm, but analysts were not concerned that this presaged a steeper decline. While the major indexes have registered losses in five of the past six sessions, the market has shown great resiliency, said Stephen Carl, principal and head of equity trading at The Williams Capital Group.

"I don’t think the numbers are so out of whack. But it’s giving more cause to take some profits," Carl said. "We’ve had a fine run-up, we’re not seeing crazy swings, so (the market’s) handling everything well. I don’t see anything horrible on the horizon now."

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 21.48, or 0.2 percent, to 10,580.14, after advancing 35.25 yesterday.

The broader gauges were higher. The Nasdaq composite index gained 9.59, or 0.5 percent, to 2,032.57. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.24, or 0.1 percent, to 1,144.91.

The markets have enjoyed a steady advance since last year, but have traded sideways in a tight range for the last several weeks. With little news to drive prices higher and institutional investors fueling much of the buying, that trend is likely to continue, said Steve Kolano, an equity trader at The Boston Company Asset Management, a Mellon subsidiary.

"We’re starting to see a mixed current of buyers and sellers," Kolano said. "As valuations come more into price targets that are expected, then you’ll see more long-term buyers."

The drop in orders for durable goods — costly manufactured products expected to last at least three years — was largely due to a plunge in demand for commercial and military aircraft. Economists had forecast a 1.4 percent rise.

Investors found the news disheartening following a better-than-expected 1.6 percent advance in December. But some economists suggested the report overstated the declines: Excluding orders for transportation equipment like planes and cars, orders for other durable goods rose by a solid 2 percent.

Separately, the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment benefits last week rose by 6,000 to 350,000, highlighting the uneven recovery taking place in the jobs market.

On the Nasdaq, Oracle Corp. gained 9 cents to $13.28 after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block its proposed $9.4 billion takeover of software rival PeopleSoft Inc.