Stocks mixed

NEW YORK -- Stocks were mixed today as investors again moved money away from pricey technology shares and toward blue-chip industrials that perform well when the economy is growing. In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 82.21 at 11,593.29, above its closing record of 11,572.20 set on Monday.

Broader stock indicators were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.94 at 1,441.50, and the Nasdaq composite index was off 0.81 at 3,920.38. In earlier trading, the Nasdaq was down as much as 86 points.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 446.91 million shares, behind yesterday's midday pace. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.42 to 491.09.

Yahoo! Inc. led a decline in Internet stocks. Shares of the Internet service provider fell $15.62 to $381.75 a day after the company posted a better-than-expected profit report. Also, Microsoft Corp. fell $3.87 to $105.50 and Oracle Corp. fell $1 to $111.37.

With technology stocks slipping, investors once again sought out relative bargains in the industrial and consumer goods sectors. After lagging behind the high-flying Nasdaq in the second half of 1999, the Dow has outstripped other market measures so far this year. Today, 3M rose $1.81 to $102.31 and Merck & Co. rose $1.69 to $74.69.

The broadening of the market beyond its earlier focus on high-tech has created a healthier environment for investors, many analysts believe.