Wall Street plays down note for the week
New York - US stocks were mixed Friday but closed down for the week after lingering concern over European debt and a looming deadline for the US Congress to agree on deficit reduction.
The worries outweighed positive economic data in the United States that saw an index of leading economic indicators rise sharply in October, indicating continued growth into the winter.
The New York-based Conference Board said its index jumped 0.9 per cent after a revised 0.1 per cent increase in September, as housing construction picked up along with improvements in consumer sentiment, stock market prices and unemployment.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 25.43 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 11,796.16. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 0.48 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 1,215.65. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 15.49 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,572.5.
For the week, the Dow lost 2.94 per cent, the S&P dropped 3.81 per cent, and the Nasdaq fell 3.97 per cent.
The US currency declined against the euro to 73.97 euro cents from 74.3 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar slipped against the Japanese currency to 76.95 yen from 76.99 yen.//DPA
