Volatile trade but little change for US stocks

US stocks were little changed today in volatile trading as ongoing concerns about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone and tepid data on the US economy gave investors little reason to take risk.

Data showed demand for long-lasting US manufactured goods rose less than expected in April while weekly jobless claims dipped modestly for the week ended May 19th.

"Durables showed the hope in the recovery in manufacturing seems to be stalling, not a lot of excitement there. The only bright spot in the economy seems to be that housing is bottoming out and that's about it," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto.

Trading was expected to be volatile throughout the day as regional data out of Europe showed some deterioration in economic activity and investors remained concerned about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone.

Surveys showed Europe's major economies suffered a contraction in their manufacturing activities and the German business climate deteriorated.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 4.31 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 12,491.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.02 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 1,319.88.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.20 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 2,844.92.

HP shares rose 4.5 per cent to $22.01 a day after the company announced plans to lay off about 8 per cent of its workforce over the next couple of years.

After the close of stock market trade yesterday, electronic trader Knight Capital Group said it suffered a pre-tax loss of $30 million to $35 million on the botched Nasdaq trading debut of social media giant Facebook and is demanding the exchange compensate that amount.

The loss, which Knight said will be recorded in its second-quarter results, was due to numerous problems related to the Facebook initial public offering. Knight Capital Group shares were down 1.6 per cent at $12.24 and Facebook shares were up 2 per cent at $32.69.

Reuters