NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market were little changed in pre-year-end trading Friday as investors waded through a barrage of fresh economic reports, with the major indexes ending marginally on the upside.
Monday will be the last trading day of what has been a roller coaster year for the markets.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which gained 43.17 points Thursday, added 5.68 points, or 0.06 percent, to close Friday at 10,136.99. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which rose 15.72 points in the previous session, was ahead 10.82 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 1,987.29.
The broader New York Stock Exchange composite index was up 2.30 points to close at 594.38 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index was ahead 3.88 points to close Friday at 1,161.01.
The American Stock Exchange composite index gained 3.81 points to close at 849.38.
The broad Wilshire 5000 ended up 43.93 points to close at 10,818.57.
Volume rose in late session trading to 1.05 billion on the Big Board and 1.25 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers beating decliners by 19 to 11 on the NYSE and by 20 to 16 on the Nasdaq.
With many Wall Street players on vacation, volume is expected to continue relatively light, as has been the case all week.
Monday will mark the last trading session of 2001. Traders will be off on Tuesday for New Year's Day and will return next Wednesday.
Analysts said the Dow came off its best level of the session of 10,184.45 on some year-end position adjusting and profit-taking following several days of advances.
Stocks had improved earlier as investors waded through a barrage of fresh economic data.
On the economic front, the Conference Board said consumer confidence posted its first rise in six months during December, indicating the deterioration in current economic conditions appears to be reaching a plateau. The private research group said its index measuring consumer confidence jumped 8.8 percentage points to 93.7 during the month from a revised 84.9 in
November.
Economists on Wall Street were expecting confidence to rise to 83.0 during the month and they watch the index because high confidence readings suggest consumers are in a mood to spend, and such spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic output.
Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center said, "The deterioration in current economic conditions appears to be reaching a plateau, led by a stabilizing employment scenario.
"Consumers' short-term optimism is no longer at recession levels, and the upward trend signals that the economy may be close to bottoming out and that a rebound by mid-2002 is likely," Franco added.
The number of U.S. workers filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week, adding to evidence that the country's weak labor market may be starting to recover.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 392,000 in the week that ended Dec. 22, up from the previous week's level of 385,000, a four-month low. New claims for the week of Dec. 15 had been originally reported as 384,000. Wall Street had expected claims to rise by 16,000.
The slight increase in initial claims lowered the 4-week moving average by 25,250 to 413,250, the lowest level since Sept. 15.
Still, other numbers indicated that the jobs market remains weak. The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance remained at 2.9 percent, as the total number of workers drawing unemployment benefits rose by 23,000 to 3.70 million.
Although layoffs have been declining in recent weeks, economists expect the unemployment rate to rise until the middle of next year. The rate, 5.7 percent last month, is expected to rise above 6 percent by early next year, economists said.
The Federal Reserve, as a result, may decide to cut interest rates at least once more in the New Year. And some economists say that, contrary to expectations on Wall Street, it will refrain from raising interest rates until the unemployment rate begins to drop.
The Fed has cut its key federal funds rate 11 times this year, lowering it by 4.75 percentage points to 1.75 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods, or items meant to last three years or longer, fell by 4.8 percent to $175.58 billion in November. October durable goods orders were revised as a 12.5 percent gain after previously being estimated as a 12.7 percent increase.
Economists predicted a 5.5 percent fall for the month.
But despite the decline in overall durable goods orders for the month, the report actually showed signs of a rebound in the struggling manufacturing sector of the economy as orders excluding volatile defense and transportation orders rose for two consecutive months.
Other data on the manufacturing sector, such as the Federal Reserve's industrial production report, have suggested the more than yearlong decline in the manufacturing sector may be beginning to abate. The overall U.S. economy has been in a recession since March.
Meanwhile, on the housing front, the Commerce Department said that sales of new single-family homes jumped 6.4 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 934,000 units.
Wall Street was expecting new home sales to rise only 0.6 percent during the month after rising 0.2 percent in October.
And the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing single-family homes in November rose 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million units.
Economists on Wall Street were expecting sales to ease 0.2 percent after rising 5.5 percent in October.
David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said this is another positive development with housing continuing to stand tall in the U.S. economy.
"Existing-home sales have been consistently stronger than expected this year, and we're so close to setting a new record that we really won't know until the December data is available. What's more, we're looking for another strong performance in 2002," he said.
"Despite the recession, all the major factors necessary for a strong housing market -- low interest rates, strong household formation and relatively low unemployment -- are continuing to create favorable market conditions," he added.
Additionally, experts said investors also focused on shares of oil producers after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it will cut crude-oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day in an effort to shore up sagging prices.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury prices headed lower. The 30-year bond fell 10/32 to 99 7/32. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction of its price, rose to 5.10 percent from 5.06 percent late Thursday.
In Europe, stock prices closed higher in light semi-holiday trading in London, Frankfurt and Paris, supported by strength in the oil patch. The London International Stock Exchange's blue-chip FTSE-100 index rose 21.0 points, or 0.40 percent, to 5,234.2. The German DAX index rose 42.97 points, or 0.84 percent, to 5,160.10 and the French CAC-40 index gained 33.34 points, or 0.73 percent, to 4,624.50.
Analysts said stocks rose in seasonally thin trading, with tech and oil stocks leading gains.
Oil stocks rose after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries issued a statement after its extraordinary meeting of ministers that confirmed the group's agreement to cut output by 1.5 million barrels a day for six months starting Tuesday.
OPEC also confirmed the eleven-member group will meet March 15 in Vienna, Austria, although OPEC's Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez said that if the market warranted it, OPEC could meet again before March.
Speaking at a news briefing immediately after the ministerial meeting, Rodriguez said that the group had a mechanism by which it can monitor the compliance of non-OPEC producers that have pledged to cut supply.
Earlier in Asia, prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the last trading session of 2001 higher in a holiday shortened session, lifted by mounting expectations of additional public fund injections into banks following comments by a senior official of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Japan's blue-chip Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selective issues, which jumped 265.04 points Thursday, ended the half-day session, up 85.01 points, or 0.80 percent, to 10,542.62. For the year, the key index fell 24 percent.
Tokyo's financial markets closed at midday Friday and will not reopen until Jan. 4.
Analysts said stocks were supported by comments from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who expressed his willingness at a meeting with top LDP members to take emergency measures, when necessary, to prevent the economy from collapsing, LDP Secretary-General Taku Yamasaki said.
Yamasaki told reporters after the meeting that additional public fund injections into banks could be considered a possibility.
These comments protected stocks from the negative news of unlisted regional bank Ishikawa Bank's reported failure and Shinsei Bank's filing for rehabilitation of First Credit, experts said.
Bank stocks finished mostly higher following the comments, helping improve overall market sentiment.
Elsewhere in Asia, prices ended slightly higher on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, supported by gains in telecommunication issues as trading volume remained at a trickle during the holiday season. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 72.09 points, or 0.63 percent, to 11,431.59.
Analysts said overall, the market languished in directionless trade as most fund managers remain on holiday. A clearer picture of the stock market will only emerge after the holidays and into the New Year, analysts added.
Prices on the South Korean Stock Exchange ended higher and for the year as investors continue to bank on the country's economic recovery next year. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, gained 25.15 points, or 3.76 percent, to 693.70 on the last day of trading in 2001. The close also was the second highest close of the year, after the 704.50 close Dec. 7.
The Kospi gained 37.47 percent since the last close of 2000, making it one of the world's best performing stock indexes.
The hopes for the Korean economy's imminent recovery are supporting the market, traders said.
Although some are predicting a correction next year, many participants held out hopes that the optimism would carry over and the Kospi will trade over the 700-level in January.
Portending a recovery, the latest data showed that South Korea's industrial output rebounded sharply in November due to rising exports and steady domestic consumption. The government said Friday that November industrial output rose 4.9 percent on-year, reversing from a 1.3 percent fall in October.
South Korea's stock market will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for New Year's. Trading will resume on next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, prices ended higher on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, supported by a rate cut from the central bank. The Weighted Index rose 65.30 points, or 1.22 percent, to 5,398.28.
In a much-expected move, Taiwan's central bank Thursday trimmed key interest rates by 0.125 percentage points, bringing the discount rate to 2.125 percent.
Elsewhere in the Pacific region, stocks ended higher on the Australian Stock Exchange, buoyed by the banking and retail sectors as investors flocked to safe haven stocks with one trading day left before the New Year. The blue-chip All Ordinaries Index added 9.80 points, or 0.27 percent, to 3,363.80.
