US stocks flat on mixed jobs data

NEW YORK: Wall Street stock markets flat-lined on Friday as traders focused on the negatives in a mixed jobs report and worried about Europe's ability to respond to a growing eurozone debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.61 point (0.01 percent) to end the session at 12,019.42.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.73 point (0.03 percent) to 2,626.93, while the S&P 500, a broader measure of the markets, slipped 0.30 point (0.03 percent) to 1,244.28.

"Equities surrendered substantial early gains and finished mostly flat to conclude the best week for US equity markets in over two years," Charles Schwab analysts said.

The rally lost steam "as investors' focus shifted to more negative aspects" in the jobs report, they added.

The Dow gained 787.64 points over the week, its second-highest point gain since the week ending October 31, 2008, when it rose 946.06 points.

Analysts said traders may be treading with some caution ahead of the weekend and a key European Union summit on the eurozone crisis next Thursday and Friday.

In its highly anticipated monthly jobs market report, the Labour Department said the unemployment rate dropped to a 32-month low of 8.6 percent in November, surprising most analysts who forecast the it would hold steady at 9.0 percent.

But economists pointed to a sharp drop in the number of people looking for work, a main factor that lowered the jobless rate.

The economy created a net 120,000 jobs, close to forecasts and 20 percent above October.

"The big picture shows an economy that has picked up steam in the second half of the year," said Nigel Gault at IHS Global Insight.

"It still faces domestic headwinds - from the legacy of household and government debt - but the major threat remains external from slowing growth in the rest of the world and from the eurozone's financial crisis."

Banks continued to profit from hopes that Europe is getting a grip on the crisis.

Bank of America added 2.0 percent, JPMorgan Chase jumped 6.1 percent, Citigroup was up 4.4 percent and Morgan Stanley soared 7.0 percent.

In the tech space, Zynga said it plans to raise up to US$1.15 billion in a keenly awaited initial public offering that values the US online games giant at US$7 billion.

A joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks said it would sell wireless spectrum to Verizon Wireless for US$3.6 billion.

Comcast surged 3.5 percent and Time Warner Cable gained 4.7 percent. Bright House is not publicly traded.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications, up 0.2 percent, and Britain's Vodafone, down 1.5 percent on the Nasdaq.

Blackberry maker Research in Motion plunged 9.7 percent after warning it would miss its annual earnings target and that it would take a US$485 million charge because of weak sales of its PlayBook tablet.

Google added 1.1 percent after the Justice Department approved its US$400 million purchase of online ad company Admeld. -- AFP