KEY POINTS:
US stocks ended little changed yesterday as anxiety that looming payrolls data may suggest the economy is headed into recession squelched earlier optimism over buoyant factory orders.
The Nasdaq closed down for a fifth straight session, dragged lower by semi-conductors. Intel, the world's largest chip maker and a standout stock in 2007, shed 2.7 per cent, bringing its decline for the first two trading days of 2008 to nearly 8 per cent after Bank of America downgraded a handful of microchip makers on Thursday.
The state of the job market grabbed investors' attention. A report by ADP Employer Services showed the private sector added 40,000 workers to payrolls last month.
The Labour Department also said the number of US workers filing new claims for jobless aid tumbled by 21,000 last week.
Separately, the Government said factory orders rose more than expected in November.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 12.76 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 13,056.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was unchanged at 1447.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.95 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 2602.68.
Manufacturers such as United Technologies, the maker of Cessna corporate jets and Bell helicopters, rose after the Government data on factory orders. United Tech gained 1.4 per cent to US$76.28 and was the top-weighted gainer on the Dow.
- Reuters
