Investors nervous about rates

Stocks were mixed in early trading Thursday as investors eyed sinking oil prices and a selloff in stock markets overseas.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 15.05 to 10,915.85) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 0.75 to 1,255.40) both hovered around the breakeven about a half hour into the session.

The Nasdaq composite (down 6.27 to 2,145.53) lost 0.5 percent.

The European Central Bank hiked its key interest rate a quarter percentage point at its meeting in Madrid Thursday, in line with forecasts of economists, sparking concerns about rising global interest rates.

Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei index tumbling 3 percent, and European shares were lower in early afternoon trading.

Oil prices sank for the third straight session Thursday on news of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

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