Stocks Mixed Day Before Fed Meeting: Dow Up 17; Analysts See Potential for a 'Bounce' After FOMC
NEW YORK, Sept. 26ÛÓStock prices were mixed today as investors waited for TuesdayÛªs meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which may decide to boost interest rates for the sixth time this year.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 17.49 points to 3849.24. But declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by about 7 to 6 on the New York Stock Exchange, where trading volume fell to 270.8 million shares from 297.6 million shares Friday.</br></br>Other market indicators heavily weighted with NYSE listings advanced: The NYSE composite index rose 0.58 points to 254.39, and the Standard & PoorÛªs 500-stock index gained 1.15 to 460,82. But the Nasdaq index ended down 1.83 to 755.63, and the American Stock Exchange index declined 1.45 to 453.78.</br></br>Blue-chip stocks were boosted by speculation that the market would rally on Tuesday, whether or not the Fed raises short-term interest rates.</br></br>Analysts said the consensus on Wall Street was that the central bank would not raise rates Tuesday but rather would wait for further data on inflation and the strength of the economy.