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NEW YORK -- Stocks were little changed today as traders, no longer preoccupied with interest rates, searched in vain for guidance on the market's direction. Dow up 9.89
Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 9.89 at 11,192.63.
Broader stock indicators were lower. The Nasdaq composite index was down 10.60 at 4,042.68, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index was off 1.85 at 1,506.46.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by a slender margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,420 up, 1,329 down and 560 unchanged. Volume came to 676.11 million shares, well below yesterday's 821.55 million. The NYSE composite index gained 0.59 to 672.53, the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.87 to 934.81 and the Russell 2000 index of small companies was up 1.81 at 525.11.
The 30-year Treasury bond fell , or $1.25 per $1,000 face amount, to a price of 108 11/32. Its yield rose 1 basis point to 5.67 percent. The 10-year note held at 100 9/32, as did its yield, at 5.72 percent.
Analysts said today's tepid trading was reflective of a number of crosscurrents now at work on Wall Street. But on the whole, the markets are in something of a holding pattern.
"Volume is very low. It seems the markets have reached an equilibrium and there's just not a lot going on," said Ricky Harrington, an analyst with Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, N.C.
Some investors sold stocks to capture recent profits. Technology stocks took the brunt. Micron Technology fell $3.56 to $89 and Texas Instruments was down $2.31 at $67.06.