Street eyes rate-setting meeting
Stocks are mixed in early trading, as investors nervously focused on the Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 20.59 or nearly a quarter percent to 8,844.4, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.79 or 0.69 percent to 1,849.32.
Only three of the ten most actively traded issues on the Nasdaq market were posting gains early today. Web portal Yahoo and telecommunications equipment maker Ciena climbed 1.14 percent and 1.8 percent respectively. Online shopping firm CyberShop soared 23.68 percent to 14.69.
Dell Computer was the most actively traded stock this morning with 6.4 million shares changing hands. The company's shares fell 4.43 percent to 68.75 today after its arch rival Compaq Computer yesterday announced it will also forcefully enter the direct sales market. Dell will also report its earnings for the quarter after the close of the market today.
Shares of Compaq also fell 1.08 percent in early trading today.
Software giant Microsoft shed 1.46 percent while telecommunications company MCI WorldCom dipped 1.38 percent.