Stocks little changed, with the Nasdaq Composite scoring its first positive November since 2009 as the political rhetoric over the budget continued. Also, consumer spending unexpectedly falling and incomes flat in October because of Hurricane Sandy. Tech stocks lost ground led but losses from Zynga, Groupon and VeriSign. Zynga lost 6.1% after the firm on Thursday announced several changes in its terms with Facebook. Groupon slid 8.7% after the co.’s board of directors reportedly chose to keep CEO Andrew Mason on the job. VeriSign tumbled 13.2% after the co. said it would be limited in raising prices due a new deal with the U.S. government. Apple lost 0.7% as the firm said the iPad mini and iPhone 5 would be released in China in December. “Fiscal cliff” negotiations will be the primary market lever in the coming week. Also, the batch of economic data for November is scheduled this week, including the ISM manufacturing data and services data, sales of autos, ADP employment data, jobs data and the unemployment rate. Implied volatility inched higher on the lightest trading volumes.
