Investors wait to commit

US stocks drifted around the break-even point yesterday afternoon, erasing early losses, as investors showed little interest in committing to a direction ahead of anticipated speeches from US President George W Bush and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, and the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

About 1.15pm, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 17.86 to 8,345.06. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.39 to 1,292.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index stood at 897.29, up 3.37.

All three major indexes posted solid gains at the end of last week.