US stocks mixed as rally euphoria fades

by **hlk** Fri 02 Dec 2011, 08:30

NEW YORK: US stock markets closed mixed on Thursday as investors digested a flood of economic data a day after a huge rally sparked by coordinated central bank action against the eurozone crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.65 points (0.21 percent) to 12,020.03.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 5.86 points (0.22 percent) to 2,626.20, while the S&P 500, a broader measure of the markets, slipped 2.37 points (0.19 percent) to 1,244.58.

"More than a few buyers opted to sit on the sidelines today, taking a breather in the wake of Wednesday's surge and ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated non-farm payrolls report," said Andrea Kramer at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

On Wednesday the Dow rocketed 4.2 percent and the S&P 500 4.3 percent after major central banks joined hands to protect Europe's commercial banks from lending market turmoil in the eurozone crisis.

But the news also underlined the precarious situation in the eurozone, as leaders still wrestle to come up with a comprehensive solution to the huge debt-and-deficit problems facing a number of countries.

Official Chinese data showing manufacturing activity in the world's second-largest economy shrank in November for the first time in nearly three years also raised concerns about slowing global growth.

Kramer said a mixed bag of economic data kept US stocks near the break-even line.

A better-than-expected read on the US manufacturing sector for November was countered by an unexpected rise in new weekly claims for unemployment insurance.

Most economists expected the Labour Department data will show the unemployment rate in November stuck at 9.0 percent for the second consecutive month.

The technology sector resisted the downturn, led especially by Apple, which rose 1.5 percent after a JPMorgan upgrade.

Yahoo rose 3.3 percent on intensifying rumours of a deal to sell all or part of the company, while Blackberry maker Research in Motion gained 4.0 percent.

Automaker shares fell after reporting robust sales for November. General Motors dropped 1.5 percent after posting a seven percent increase from a year ago, while Ford edged down 0.1 percent on a 13.3 percent sales jump.

Hewlett-Packard added 1.0 percent despite its rating downgrade to BBB+ from A by Standard & Poor's after the market closed on Wednesday. -- AFP