Bryan Cooley calls for a deal during trading in the S&P 500 futures trading pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average flirted with its all-time high Friday but ended the day 39.38 lower at 11,679.07.

Wall Street ended a stellar third quarter with a moderate decline Friday, as the Dow Jones industrial average pulled back from record-high levels. The major indexes closed out the week, month and quarter with gains.

The day’s economic news was gloomy and money managers made few bold moves.

“This is possibly a short-term top,” Ken Tower, chief market strategist for Schwab’s CyberTrader, said of the Dow briefly surpassing its closing record of 11,722.98 on Thursday.

“The Dow has been flirting with an all-time high; the market may be due for a little rest as we enter October.”

Stocks dipped after St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said the Fed would continue to watch economic data as it sets interest rate policy. His comments were seen as leaving the door open to additional interest rate increases if inflation necessitates them.

The Dow fell 39.38, or 0.34 percent, to 11,679.07. The index briefly crossed its closing high Thursday, then fell back. It has yet to surpass its all-time trading high of 11,750.28; both highs were set Jan. 14, 2000.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.30, or 0.25 percent to 1,335.85, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 11.59, or 0.51 percent, to 2,258.43. The S&P 500 remains near a 5 1/2-year high.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said consumer spending dropped in August by the largest amount in nearly a year and core inflation for August, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was up a worrisome 2.5 percent compared to a year ago, the biggest year-over-year increase in more than a decade.