U.S. stocks wavered on Friday, with major indexes ending mixed, as investors struggled to weigh the European debt problems against pick-up signs in the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 25.43 points, or 0.22 percent, to 11,796.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged down 0.48 points, or 0.04 percent, to 1,215.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index was under pressure, losing 15.49 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,572. 50.
European sovereign debt yields on Friday dropped from recent highs. Some investors believed it was because the European Central Bank was now purchasing those countries' bonds.
Recently, bond yields of euro zone countries surged quite a lot. The Spanish government on Thursday sold 3.56 billion euros of 10- year bonds at an average yield of nearly 7 percent, a level seen as unsustainable as both Greece and Portugal were forced to seek bailouts after yields hit similar levels.
The latest economic news continued to show that the U.S. economy may pick up in the coming months as the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose more than analyst had expected.
Meanwhile, investors now kept a close watch on the S&P 500's 50- day moving average level, which was just above 1,200, after breaking its support level at around 1,230 on Thursday.
For the week, the blue-chip Dow dropped about 3 percent while both the broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined about 4 percent, the worst week for stocks in about two months.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 25.43 points, or 0.22 percent, to 11,796.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged down 0.48 points, or 0.04 percent, to 1,215.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index was under pressure, losing 15.49 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,572. 50.
European sovereign debt yields on Friday dropped from recent highs. Some investors believed it was because the European Central Bank was now purchasing those countries' bonds.
Recently, bond yields of euro zone countries surged quite a lot. The Spanish government on Thursday sold 3.56 billion euros of 10- year bonds at an average yield of nearly 7 percent, a level seen as unsustainable as both Greece and Portugal were forced to seek bailouts after yields hit similar levels.
The latest economic news continued to show that the U.S. economy may pick up in the coming months as the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose more than analyst had expected.
Meanwhile, investors now kept a close watch on the S&P 500's 50- day moving average level, which was just above 1,200, after breaking its support level at around 1,230 on Thursday.
For the week, the blue-chip Dow dropped about 3 percent while both the broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined about 4 percent, the worst week for stocks in about two months.
