The Dow industrials held on to a fractional gain, but other major indexes finished lower Wednesday as an early session rally led by a surge in the energy sector sputtered out in late trade.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.01% finished up 1.98 points at 19,123.58. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.27% fell 5.85 points, or 0.3%, to 2,198.81. 

    The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -1.05% closed at a session low of 5,323.68, falling 56.24 points, or 1.1%.