* U.S. service sector contracts at slower pace in June

* Oil falls 4 pct to $64 a barrel, energy sector hit

* Dow up 0.5 pct, S&P up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq off 0.5 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to close)

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - The Dow industrials rose and the S&P 500 rebounded in late trading on Monday as investors' concerns about the strength of an economic recovery triggered a move into defensive stocks.

But the technology-heavy Nasdaq slipped as investors rotated out of the tech sector, which is viewed as more reliant on the economic cycle.

A series of reports showing the economy is in less dire straits than it was at the start of the year drove stocks sharply higher in the spring, but lately investors have been looking for consistent evidence of a sustained recovery.