Dow slips 59.85

NEW YORK - Stock indexes closed mixed on Wall Street today as traders cautiously placed some last-minute bets before tomorrow's meeting of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 59.85 to close at 10,853.47. The index had fallen as much as 167 points earlier in the session.

Broader stock indicators, which were lower for most of the day, closed mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.69 to 1,339.49, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 33.98 to 2,561.84.

But declining issues outdistanced advancers by a 2-to-1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,995 down, 1,040 up and 492 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 668.14 million shares vs. 729.90 million Friday.

The NYSE composite index fell 1.53 to 636.92; the American Stock Exchange composite index dropped 3.87 to 784.94; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.78 to 441.35.

The 30-year bond rose 6/32, or $1.88 per $1,000 security, to 91, pushing its yield down 2 basis point to 5.89 percent.

For much of the day, stock traders extended Friday's broad selloff, in which the Dow fell 193.87 to 10,913.32, responding to a steeper-

than-expected increase in the Consumer Price Index that fed worries about rising inflation.

The report prompted speculation that the Fed will at least consider an interest rate hike when its Open Market Committee meets tomorrow.

After the market closed today, Dow component Hewlett-Packard Co. reported net income that was better than expected earnings as sales in its personal computer and printer businesses picked up.