Wall Street has the interest rate cut it wanted, but still turned in a baffling late-day performance, shooting higher and then skidding lower in the very last minutes of trading as some investors rushed to cash in profits after the market's big advance.

The Dow Jones industrials were up nearly 280 points in the last quarter hour of the session, giving them a two-day gain of more than 1,160 points, when another bout of last-hour volatility wiped out the advance. Some analysts said hedge funds were cashing in their gains, while others said some investors were giving a bleak interpretation to the Federal Reserve's statement on the economy that accompanied its half-point rate cut.

The Dow is down 74 points at the 8,890 level. The broader market indexes have ended the day mixed.