Stocks Finish Flat on Mixed Economic News
- Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 17:50
- Stock Market
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Stocks finished mostly flat on Tuesday as investors weighed downbeat housing numbers against improving U.S. consumer confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.65 points, or 0.02%, at 12,291.35. The S&P 500 gained 0.1 point, or 0.01% to 1,265.43 and the Nasdaq advanced 6.56 points, 0.25%, to 2,625.20.
U.S. home prices fell in most major cities for the second straight month. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday showed prices dropped in October from September in 19 of the 20 cities tracked.
Consumer confidence shot higher for the second month in a row in December, according to a survey from The Conference Board. The research firm’s overall confidence index, released Tuesday, jumped 9.3 points to 64.5. The increase follows a 14.3-point rise in November.
President Obama plans to nominate lawyer Jerome Powell and economist Jeremy Stein to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, according to a White House statement. Both candidates hold degrees from Princeton, have served briefly at the Treasury Department and have diverse backgrounds in the finance field.
The Treasury Department in its long-delayed semi-annual report on currencies said China is not a currency manipulator. “Based on the ongoing appreciation of the RMB against the dollar since June 2010, the decline in China’s current account surplus, and China’s official commitments at the G-20, APEC, and the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue that it will move more rapidly toward exchange rate flexibility.
Crude-oil futures closed above $101 a barrel Tuesday, as tension in Iran sparked concerns over global supplies and improving U.S. consumer confidence helped buoy prospects for oil demand. Crude for February delivery gained $1.66, or 1.7%, to $101.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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