Stocks recovered from earlier losses to end little changed as concerns about Europe's weak economy and debt crisis weighed on the market. German economy contracted 0.25% in the last three months of the year. On the upside, the Federal Reserve said economic conditions across its 12 districts continued to expand moderately from November to December, and retailers reported strong holiday sales in December, but the residential real estate market was down in all districts. Tech stocks edged higher, but Microsoft slipped after warning that personal computer shipments may be weaker than expected. Hewlett-Packard and Dell were in the red. Chevron fell in the evening trade after the co. warned of fourth-quarter earnings to come in “significantly below” its third-quarter results. Implied volatility inched higher on the light trading volumes.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Erased early losses
Stocks recovered from earlier losses to end little changed as concerns about Europe's weak economy and debt crisis weighed on the market. German economy contracted 0.25% in the last three months of the year. On the upside, the Federal Reserve said economic conditions across its 12 districts continued to expand moderately from November to December, and retailers reported strong holiday sales in December, but the residential real estate market was down in all districts. Tech stocks edged higher, but Microsoft slipped after warning that personal computer shipments may be weaker than expected. Hewlett-Packard and Dell were in the red. Chevron fell in the evening trade after the co. warned of fourth-quarter earnings to come in “significantly below” its third-quarter results. Implied volatility inched higher on the light trading volumes.
