NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Surging oil prices knocked the wind out of the stock market advance Wednesday afternoon, causing the Dow Jones industrial average to scale back its attempts to test its all-time closing high.

A weak read on durable goods orders and a mixed read on the housing market added to the session's challenges.

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The 30-share Dow (up 13.44 to 11,682.83, Charts) added a few points with 35 minutes left in the session. Earlier, the blue-chip barometer stood within three points of its record closing high of 11,722.98, hit on Jan. 14, 2000. The record trading high is 11,750.28.

A surprisingly strong consumer confidence report gave stocks a leg up Tuesday, putting the Dow about 53 points from its record close.

After trying to take out the record throughout the session Wednesday, stocks hit some resistance in the form of a run up in oil prices in the afternoon.

The broader S&P 500 (down 0.90 to 1,335.44, Charts) added a few points Wednesday after ending the previous session at its best point since February 2001. The Nasdaq composite (down 2.75 to 2,258.59, Charts) rose about 0.3 percent higher.

While the Dow is near its record, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are far from their closing highs - the S&P 13 percent away and the Nasdaq 55 percent.

The Dow record in January 2000 came near the tail end of the Internet boom of the late 1990s. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit their record highs roughly two months later.

But the broader market began to slide soon after. Within two weeks of hitting that January 2000 peak, the Dow had lost 8 percent. The Dow and the broader market recovered most of the losses in April and then in August of that year, before giving up and heading lower.

The bursting of the Internet bubble, the recession that ended in 2001 and the events of 9/11 all contributed to a bear market that lasted for three years. After bottoming out in October 2002, stocks have slowly recovered.

Last May, the S&P 500 hit a 5-1/2 year high and the Dow closed at its highest point since the record.

But record high oil prices and worries about the economy caused investors to backtrack through the summer. Stocks have since recovered, thanks to hopes that falling oil prices and slower but not too slow economic growth mean the nation is not heading for a recession, but a "soft landing."

Analysts seem to think that the market should be able to continue rising, at least in the short term.

However, in order to do that, stocks will have to get past the record. The Dow's high is a psychological barrier but not necessarily one that Wall Street professionals are much influenced by, said Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. stock trading at Legg Mason.

Should the Dow break its record close or trading high, "it will get a lot of press tonight and could make your mom and pop investor want to put more money to work tomorrow," Schrader said. But it doesn't make a broader statement about the market, he said.

"The Dow is not really representative of the U.S. economy," Schrader added. "It's a benchmark, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are broader."

A surprisingly weak read on August durable goods orders Wednesday initially seemed to challenge the recent economic optimism, as it suggested that perhaps the economy is slowing more than expected.

However, after a dip at the open Wednesday, stocks again moved higher.

Investors also took in a report that showed new home sales rose in August from July's revised numbers. But the median price of a new home dipped from a year earlier, due to an oversupply of new homes, further signs of the slowdown hitting the housing market.

Stock gains were selective, with commodity shares among the most upbeat. Silver shares boosted the iShares Silver Trust (up $2.15 to $116.04, Charts) by 1.9 percent, while a rally in gold stocks lifted the Amex Gold Bugs (up $5.29 to $305.29, Charts) index by 1.5 percent.

Valero Energy (up $1.95 to $51.58, Charts) and Marathon Oil (up $1.92 to $75.90, Charts) were among the stocks boosting the Amex Oil (up 20.14 to 1,082.86, Charts) index by 1.3 percent.

Dow component McDonald's (up $0.74 to $39.80, Charts) rose after the company lifted its quarterly dividend to $1 per share from 67 cents.

General Motors (up $0.93 to $32.34, Charts) shares rose on news that the automaker will continue talking with Renault-Nissan about a potential alliance.

Intel (up $0.43 to $20.39, Charts) rose 2 percent after a Federal Judge late Tuesday threw out substantial parts of Advanced Micro Devices' anti-trust lawsuit against the chipmaker.

Fellow Dow component Verizon Communications (down $1.31 to $36.65, Charts) slumped 3 percent as investors took a "sell the news" response to the company's announcement that it will cost about $18 billion for it to upgrade its telephone network so it can sell cable television and high-speed Internet connections.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers 9 to 7 as 1.45 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by a narrow margin as 1.78 billion shares changed hands.

U.S. light crude oil for November delivery rose $1.95 to $62.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling earlier on a strong gain in inventories.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $6.60 to $603.70 an ounce.

Treasury prices turned lower, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note rising to around 4.59 percent from 4.58 percent late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained modestly versus the yen and was little changed against the euro.

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