(Corrects date in dateline to "Oct 12")
NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Dow industrials and the Nasdaq composite turned negative on Monday afternoon as investors locked in some profits in cautious trading before a busy earnings week.
Communications equipment was the top drag on the Nasdaq 100 while industrials weighed down the S&P 500.
The Dow Jones industrial average shed 14.97 points, or 0.15 percent, to 9,849.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.69 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,072.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.88 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,129.40. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)