MIDDAY MARKETS: Warnings drag down techs

Techs were treading water at midday Tuesday, after several warning sent stocks spiraling down, and the markets awaited news from the latest Fed meeting. The Nasdaq inched up 1.86 to 3,570.76 and the Dow Jones industrial average gained 86.94 to 10,787.07.

The Inter@ctive Week @Net Index fell 4 to 483.67.

Analysts and investors weren't waiting for any surprises from the Federal Reserve policy meeting; most expect the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged due to signs U.S. economic growth is finally slowing down. Words from Alan Greenspan which could indicate the body's stance on rates going forward could provoke a reaciton, though.

Corel Corp. (Nasdaq: CORL) was a bright spot on the Nasdaq, bolting up 72 percent Tuesday after news Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) will invest $135 million in the company. The former arch rivals will also work together on Microsoft's new .NET initiative.

Xerox (NYSE: XRX) was down 3.56 to 11.75 after the company warned it expected a third-quarter loss instead of a profit.

Primus (Nasdaq: PKSI), down 5.97 to 4.906, or 55 percent, warned its third quarter results would miss expectations; it also announced a new CFO.

DSET Corp. (Nasdaq: DSET), down 14 to 5.94, or 70 percent, said Tuesday it would miss third quarter estimates after one of its customers went bankrupt.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), up 1.75 to 57.25, will hire 2,500 people over the next 3 to 5 years and spend over a $100 million on new capital and interior improvements, the company said today at the opening of a new optical plant in New Hampshire.

Online ad network DoubleClick Inc. (Nasdaq: DCLK), down 2.25 to 27.38, has agreed to purchase NetCreations (Nasdaq: NTCR), down 0.5 to 10.88, in a deal worth $191 million.

Netcentives Inc. (Nasdaq: NCNT) was up 1.69 to 10.69, or 19 percent, after Credit Suisse First Boston reiterated a "strong buy" rating on the Web-based marketing firm. The company also announced a deal with AOL (NYSE: AOL), up 0.52 to 55.77.

Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) rose 0.13 to 36 and Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) fell 1.22 to 84.84.

Among other leading tech issues: Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) rose 0.88 to 41, and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) shed 1.38 to 77.38.