Stocks pared their losses in late afternoon trading on yesterday as computer-driven buy programmes from big institutional investors kicked in. The market had been in negative territory for much of the session before steadying as institutional buyers adjusted trading positions ahead of today's "double witching" - when stock option and index option contracts expire. Some institutional investors were trying to take advantage of price discrepancies between option contracts and their underlying stocks.

The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index held a small loss of 8.86 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,910.03, after sinking as much as 2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 11.21 points, or 0.11 percent, at 10,334.74. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.75 points, or 0.23 percent, at 1,175.27.

Ciena, the most active on the Nasdaq, fell more than 32 percent to a new 52-week low in a massive sell-off after the company cut its 2001 and 2002 financial forecasts.