Stocks flat on mixed economic data in lackluster trading

NEW YORK -- Stocks finished an erratic week narrowly mixed Friday after a government report of a steep decline in new-home sales stirred concerns that weakness in housing will continue to dog the economy.

The Commerce Department report that new-home sales fell 9% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000 triggered renewed nervousness that consumers could become uneasy and tamp down their spending.

Stocks, which fell more than 1% Thursday following unwelcome economic readings and the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, fluctuated through the day Friday. The Chicago purchasing managers' index had for a time offered some support to investor sentiment Friday after it showed a stronger-than-expected increase for December manufacturing activity in the Midwest.

But Wall Street appeared unable to hold onto its enthusiasm for too long. Investors are eager for any economic data that can help illuminate whether weakness in the housing and financial sectors is undercutting the overall economy, possibly leading to a recession.

Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist at The Hartford, contends the news from growth in Midwest manufacturing to the weak housing report could have an outsize effect on stocks because of the session's light volume.

"What you have is a very thinly traded market so any news, whether it's good news or bad news, can skew the market actually quite dramatically one way or the other," she said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 6.26, or 0.05%, to 13,365.87, after bobbing higher and lower throughout the session.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.12, or 0.1%, to 1478.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.33, or 0.1%, to 2674.46.

Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.03 billion shares.

Bond prices rose sharply as investors looked for the assurances of U.S.-backed investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.08% from 4.19% late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.