HP leads Dow average up
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Stocks flipped between gains and losses throughout the day after a meeting of European leaders failed to deliver new steps to ease the region’s debt crisis. (May 24, 2012) Credit: Bloomberg
Stocks flipped between gains and losses throughout the day after a meeting of European leaders failed to deliver new steps to ease the region's debt crisis.
The Dow closed up 33.60 points at 12,529.75. Fears that Europe's troubles could turn into a worldwide financial crisis have pushed the 30-stock average down 5 percent this month, erasing most of its gains for the year.
U.S economic news gave traders little direction. Orders for long-lasting factory goods edged up in April, but a key category that tracks business investment spending fell for the second month in a row.
HP rose 3 percent after the maker of personal computers and printers said it plans to purge 27,000 employees to save $3 billion or more.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 0.14 percent to 1,320.68. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.38 percent to 2,839.38.
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