Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan left financial markets unscathed and unimpressed yesterday as he reasserted the Fed's willingness to raise interest rates at any sign of a rebound in inflation.

Market indexes ended the session with mixed results. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 6.97 to close at 10,972.07. The blue-chip index spent much of the afternoon in positive territory before falling back in the final hour of trading.

Broader stock indicators, however, were modestly higher.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 2.56 to 1,365.40, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 26.51 to 2,705.84.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a seven-to-six margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,600 down, 1,373 up and 575 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 688.93 million shares.