Stocks were little changed yesterday as traders, no longer preoccupied with interest rates, searched in vain for guidance on the market's direction.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 9.89 at 11,192.63.

Broader stock indicators were lower. The Nasdaq composite index was down 10.60 at 4,042.68, and the Standard and Poor's 500 index was down 1.86 at 1,506.45.

Analysts said yesterday's tepid trading was reflective of a number of cross currents now at work on Wall Street. But on the whole, the markets are in something of a holding pattern.

"Volume is very low. It seems the markets have reached an equilibrium and there's just not a lot going on," said Ricky Harrington, technical analyst with Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.