Stocks mixed on worries about U.S., Europe
Specialist Paul Cosentino, right, directs trading in shares of Regions Financial Corp. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (March 21, 2012) Credit: AP
Stocks rallied to finish mixed Thursday after most of the day in the red. Investors were reminded Europe has not solved its debt crisis and the U.S. economy is far from healed.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 94 points at its low but finished up 19.61 points at 13,145.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 2.26 points to close at 1,403.28, and the Nasdaq lost 9.60 points to 3,095.36.
The government released some incremental good news: The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to the lowest since April 2008, and economic growth for 2011's last quarter was in line with expectations. But the government also said many more people than originally estimated filed unemployment claims in recent months. And economists believe growth has slowed to an annual rate of about 1.5 percent from 3 percent last quarter.
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