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US stocks dip at end of volatile week

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CIOL Bureau
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By Kristin Roberts



NEW YORK: Stocks stumbled on Friday, ending just slightly lower, as traders closed their positions ahead of the long US holiday weekend.



Volume was feather-light, leaving the Nasdaq market with its slowest day of 2000 to kick off the summer season. Analysts warned against making much of the day's moves.



"Nothing, zero, nada is going on," said Charles Payne, head analysts at independent market research firm Wall Street Strategies. "This is really like watching paint dry. It's the holiday and the fact that Friday's have been notoriously bad. Nobody's taking stock home over the weekend."



The Nasdaq composite closed nearly unchanged, off just 0.24 of a point, or 0.01 percent, at 3,205.11. The index lost 185 points this week as investors pulled cash out of technology leaders.



Microsoft Corp. fell to a new 52-week low this week and closed Friday down 1/16 at 61-7/16. Shares of the software giant were haunted by concerns about the remedy that may be chosen in the government's antitrust case.



That helped pressure the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average , which closed down 24.68 points, or 0.24 percent, at 10,299.24 after bobbing in and out of positive territory all day. The Dow was off 328 points for the week.



Broader measures of the market were lower with the Standard & Poor's 500 index off 3.50 points, or 0.25 percent, at 1,378.02. The Wilshire 5000 index , which gauge nearly the entire U.S. equity market, fell 29.60 points, or 0.23 percent, to 12,617.04.



"The only thing I really liked about this session was how the market fought back from the lows," Payne said. "Any other day this week, we would have sunk so that's a good sign."



The week's trading suffered as investors lacked guidance. Company-specific developments and comments from Wall Street analysts had an exaggerated effect on trading, analysts said.



Volume dried up on Friday as traders headed home for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The New York Stock Exchange saw just 725.1 million shares change hands while the Nasdaq logged 1.07 billion shares - marking a new low for the year.



Concerns about inflation and Federal Reserve action also lingered. Wall Street analysts said a batch of economic data released before the market opened did not show the U.S. economy's growth is letting up enough to appease inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve.



The U.S. Commerce Department reported that orders for big ticket items dropped in April while an increase had been expected, but personal spending rose by a larger-than-forecast amount.



Although the drop in durable goods orders, the fastest slide in more than eight years, could suggest some slowing in the economy, analysts warned that the data is notoriously volatile.



Personal spending, a more closely-watched figure as consumption is a key driver of the economy, remained steady in April, rising 0.4 percent. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected only a 0.3 percent rise.



The bond market closed at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 16/32 with the yield falling to 6.32 percent from Thursday's close of 6.40 percent.



In other markets, crude oil prices rose after posting fresh two-month highs on worries over gasoline shortages heading into the peak U.S. summer driving demand season.



Transportation stocks fell lower as oil prices rose. The Dow Jones transportation average lost 1.11 percent to 2,687.55. The American Stock Exchange's airline index fell 1.24 percent to 155.75



Among the most active stocks, office supplies retailer Office Depot Inc. fell 3-1/8 to 7-5/16 after saying it expects to miss current Wall Street earnings estimates. Part of the company's explanation for the reduced outlook was disappointing sales, which some analysts said could be a sign that the economy is cooling off.



(C) Reuters Limited 2000.

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