Stocks were mostly lower Friday as a move by China to curb bank lending and economic data in the United States and Europe raised fears that the global recovery might be in jeopardy.
Even so, Wall Street stocks ended off the day’s lows as investors bet that the European Union would devise a clear plan to aid debt-laden Greece and restore confidence in countries using the euro.
Stock laggards included large manufacturers and commodity-related companies, many dependent on Chinese demand. On the Nasdaq, bargain-hunting in technology helped the index to close slightly higher.
The aluminum company Alcoa fell 2.2 percent, to $13.28, while United Technologies lost 1.5 percent, to $65.69, and General Electric dipped 1.4 percent, to $15.55.
China raised banks’ reserve requirements, the second such increase in two months. Investors worried that China, which has been spearheading the world’s economic recovery, might be pulling back too soon.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 45.05 points, or 0.44 percent, to 10,099.14. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index slipped 2.96 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,075.51. But the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.12 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,183.53.
Data on consumer sentiment and business inventories and on the euro zone’s gross domestic product were also weaker than investors had expected.
The major stock indexes ended the week higher, halting a four-week string of declines, helped in part by investors scouring for shares in the beaten-down sectors, particularly technology. Both the Dow and the S.& P. 500 rose 0.9 percent, while the Nasdaq climbed 2 percent.
Interest rates, meanwhile, fell on Friday. The Treasury’s 10-year note rose 6/32, to 99 14/32, and the yield fell to 3.69 percent from 3.72 percent late Thursday.
“There may be a bit of buying and positioning going into the three-day weekend, assuming that the E.U. can iron out issues and finalize agreements to help Greece,” said Dennis Cajigas, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a retail brokerage firm, in Chicago. Euro-zone finance ministers are scheduled to meet Monday, when financial markets in the United States will be closed for Presidents’ Day.
The Nasdaq’s top gainers included the BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, which rose 3.1 percent, to $71.33, after Wedbush Morgan started coverage with an outperform rating, saying the stock was well positioned. Commercial Loan Workout.
Tags: business inventories, euro zone, european union, Financial Markets, global recovery, stocks, wall street
