NEW YORK: US stocks closed narrowly mixed Friday, taking a pause a day after a blockbuster rally as investors digested Europe's eurozone debt deal and company earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 22.56 points (0.18 percent) to finish at 12,231.11.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.48 points (0.05 percent) to 2,737.15, while the S&P 500 index, a broader measure of the markets, barely moved, edging up 0.49 point (0.04 percent) to 1,285.08.
Wall Street stocks had opened slightly lower, then clawed their way up in trade lacking clear direction "as traders grapple with the implementation of Thursday's eurozone debt crisis plan," Charles Schwab analysts said.
Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com said that after Thursday's rally of roughly three percent and the market rebound of the past three weeks, "the weakness could simply be a case of profit taking after such a strong run."
The blue-chip Dow has advanced 12 percent since the beginning of the month, rebounding to the level last seen on July 28 when US politicians were battling over raising the nation's debt limit.
There was little action in economic news -- a September reading on personal spending and income from the Commerce Department was in line with expectations.
Sentiment found support from better-than-expected earnings from Dow members Chevron and Merck.
Chevron rose 0.6 percent to $109.64 after announcing third-quarter net profit more than doubled to $7.83 billion. Merck added 2.3 percent to $35.11. The pharmaceuticals firm said third-quarter net profit tripled to $1.7 billion.
Hewlett-Packard rose 4.1 percent to $19.78. Moody's Investor Service put the credit ratings of Hewlett-Packard under review for a possible downgrade Friday, a day after the company said it would retain its personal computer business.
Fellow Dow component Whirlpool slumped 14.3 percent to $51.80 after reporting operating profit plunged 42 percent in the third quarter from the year-ago period.
The home appliance manufacturer said it would cut more than 5,000 jobs in North America and European and reduce capacity, citing soft demand in the weakening global economy.
Derivatives broker MF Global plunged 16.1 percent to $1.20, after plunging 16 percent Thursday following a Fitch downgrade to junk status due to the firm's bad $6 billion bet on the debt of struggling European governments.
On Thursday stocks closed sharply higher after European leaders reached an overnight deal on aid for Greece and US economic growth data damped down worries of a new recession. The Dow jumped 2.9 percent, the S&P 500 gained 3.4 percent and the Nasdaq rose 3.3 percent.
The bond market rallied. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.31 percent from 2.40 percent late Thursday, while that on the 30-year Treasury declined to 3.35 percent from 3.45 percent.
Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
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