Markets flat on ho-hum reports

Posted on Aug 16, 2012 in Business | 0 comments

Stocks were flat in New York Thursday on the release of economic data that was neutral or close to expectations.

The European Union”s statistical office Eurostat said inflation in the 17-nation eurozone on an annual basis came to 2.4 percent, in line with a previously released flash estimate. In Washington, the Department of Labor said first-time unemployment benefit claims rose by 2,000 to 366,000, not a large enough to jolt markets.

In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 2.82 points to 13,161.96, off 0.02 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index added 3.47 points to 3,034.40, up 0.11 percent. The Standard and Poor”s 500 shed 0.89 points to 1,404.64, off 0.06 percent.

The benchmark 10-year treasury rose 8/32 to yield 1.791 percent.

Against the euro, the dollar was $1.2323 from $1.2289 Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was 79.14 from 78.98 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed at 9,092.76, adding 167.72 points, or 1.88 percent.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International