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Stocks mixed NEW YORK: U.S. stocks were building steam at midday on Wednesday but trading was volatile as technology shares pared early losses prompted by rising bond prices.

Financials, pharmaceuticals, autos, and semiconductor equipment maker shares were up while Internets, building materials and gold stocks were down.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 76 points, or 0.67 percent, at 11,587 with strength from stocks such as AT&T , which was up 2-9/16 at 53-15/16, General Motors, up 3-5/16 at 76-1/4, and Intel, up 3-13/16 at 93-1/2.

The technology-rich Nasdaq Composite index was down 5 points, or 0.13 percent, at 3,916. It was marked by losses at Internet portal Yahoo! Inc., which was down 17-1/4 at 380, despite reporting a four-fold increase in profits, and a two-for-one stock split. It's long-term outlook raised questions for investors. said Hugh Johnson, the chief investment officer at First Albany Corp. in Albany, N.Y.

In the wake of their mega-merger announcement, America Online and Time Warner were both down in heavy volume. AOL was off 4-3/16 at 60-13/16 and Time Warner was down 5 at 80.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 0.37 of a point at 1,438.

The U.S. Treasury 30-year bond was down 2/32 with a yield of 6.67 percent, even with Tuesday's close. It shaved steep morning losses after a Federal Reserve official made comments about the strong pace of economic growth.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Michael Moskow, who is not a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee, said the U.S. economy has been growing at a pace that is probably too rapid to sustain without driving up inflation.

Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Edward Boehne later said the Fed will have to act on inflation when productivity plateaus. He said the Fed must remain alert and consider stock levels if they are fuelling unsustainable demand.

The more important news will come later in the week, with the December Producer Prices Index being reported on Thursday and the Consumer Price Index on Friday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is also scheduled to speak on technology in a Thursday night speech.

Declining stocks outpaced advances by 4 to 3 with more than 523 million shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. There were 53 stocks at new lows and 35 at new highs.

Information services provider Bell & Howell Co. was up 4-7/16 at 34-1/2 after it said it planned to split into two companies as part of a restructuring aimed at sharpening its focus.-Reuters

Treasuries down

NEW YORK: U.S. Treasuries were trading a touch lower at midday on Wednesday after a quick spurt of short covering in the morning following two Fannie Mae bond offerings totalling $10 billion briefly lifted bond prices higher.

At midday, the bellwether 30-year Treasury bond was down 2/32 at 92-29/32. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, stood at 6.69 percent, above a 28-month settlement high of 6.68 percent.

March long bond futures were 4/16 higher after starting the day down, and were trading at 89-23/32, still above technical support at the Jan. 4 low of 89-11/32.

The cash market briefly turned higher in the morning, and sources cautioned that the boost in prices associated with covering a short position is quite apart from betting the market is heading higher by buying Treasuries.

Participation in the Treasuries market is likely to turn even lighter than it has in the last few days as the waiting game ahead of key economic data on Thursday and Friday and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan take centre stage.

Concerns weighing on Treasuries include a large supply of corporate and agency debt, poor technicals in the futures market, fears of strong economic data, and more recently, concerns that European growth will result in rate hikes.

The waiting ahead of Greenspan's speech in New York on Thursday, plus comments from Chicago Fed Chief Michael Moskow, helped to stoke increasingly hawkish views in bond markets about how much the Fed is likely to raise borrowing costs to control inflationary pressure this year.

The 10-year Treasury note, which many said led the sharp losses in the bond market on Tuesday, was down 5/32 at 95-7/32 to yield 6.68 percent midday Wednesday.

Regarding key data coming out on Thursday and Friday, economists polled by Reuters, on average, forecast that retail sales rose 1 percent in December.

They also estimated that December Producer Price Index grew by 0.3 percent with the core rate up 0.1 percent. December Consumer Price Index likely climbed 0.3 percent with the core index moving up 0.2 percent, according to the economists.-Reuters