Shares were little changed on Wall Street after a small rally fizzled by the end of trading.

There was light trading ahead of the US election which takes place today.

Dealers put the slowdown to profit-taking on recent sharp gains and fairly strong buying interest in financial stocks.

Technology shares also saw heavy selling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended unchanged at 8706.

The Nasdaq index was 12.17 lower at 1,788.

The broader based S&P 500 was down 0.73 to 1110.87.

Some 1,608 shares were higher, 1,408 lower, and 511 unchanged in light volume of 650 m shares.

The 5 1/2 pct 30-year bond was up 9/32 at 104 7/32 yielding 5.22%, boosted by news from the Conference Board that leading economic indicators in September stood at 105.5, unchanged from August.