The close: Wall St. near flat; correction worry rises U.S. stocks ended little changed on Monday with indexes hovering near record levels as concerns about a correction cut earlier gains that were boosted by acquisition activities. Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 19.12 points, or 0.12 per cent, to finish unofficially at 15,335.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.18 points, or 0.07 per cent, to end unofficially at 1,666.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.53 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close unofficially at 3,496.43. Canadian markets were closed for a holiday. U.S. stocks fell after modest gains earlier in the session on a day with no economic data and little news or a catalyst to drive prices much in either direction, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. "There are people scared by the sharpness and the length of this rally, which is totally understandable, but there are still those who are afraid to not invest and miss the rally," he said. The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and yen on Monday as traders pared back expectations Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would hint at tapering U.S. bond purchases this week. Market focus is shifting to Bernanke's testimony to Congress on Wednesday after recent comments by Fed officials have fueled speculation the U.S. central bank may trim its bond purchases sooner than expected. The yen rebounded from a 4-1/2-year low against the dollar after Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari said the yen's excessive strength had largely corrected and that further weakness could damage Japan's economy. "We may have been moving a little bit too early," said Andrew Dilz, foreign currency trader at Tempus Inc in Washington. I see a continuing of this exact pace of current purchases at least through the end of the summer, which is going to put some pressure on the dollar. The dollar index, which tracks its value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.6 per cent to 83.788, retracing from a near three-year peak notched on Friday. Speculation had grown that the beginning of the end of the Fed's $85-billion per month bond-buying program might come sooner than many investors expected if recent gains in the U.S. labour market hold.