Stocks closed in mixed territory as investors digested economic reports showing sluggishness in the U.S. economy. Europe is once again in focus after Moody's warned that the European Union's Aaa credit rating was at risk, Moody's revised its outlook on the EU to "negative" from "stable." Institute for Supply Management’s factory gauge contracted for a third month in August, its lowest since July 2009, sliding to 49.6.Constraction spending in July declined 0.9%, while economists expected 0.5% growth. Activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector rose less than initially estimated in August, the Markit PMI came in at 51.5, up only slightly from 51.4 in July, but below an earlier "flash" estimate of 51.9. Also, the big three automakers(General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) reported better-than-expected monthly sales. Apple gained 1.46% after the co. sent out invitations to an event for Sept. 12that included a visual in the shape of a “5,” spurring the belief that the iPhone 5 is on its way. Also over the long weekend, the company added more Samsung smartphones to the list of devices it wants banned from sale in the U.S., following a favorable ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit last month. A selloff on leading semiconductors, including Intel, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, pressured the overall tech sector after Evercore partners cut ratings on Nvidia and AMD to underweight and lowered estimates on Intel, citing rising inventories and flat expectations for PC sales. Amazon rose initially but gave up 0.16% after the co. reported that it reached a content deal with Epix to add more movies to its Prime online streaming service. In the evening trade Facebook rose 3.6% as CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to hold onto his stock in the near term, while FedEx dropped 3.1% after the co. cut its quarterly forecast.
