Friday's afternoon trade: Wall Street edges lower

US stocks edged lower on Friday as investors paused after a rally that lifted the S&P 500 index almost 20 percent from near bear market levels where it had sunk earlier this month. Stock indexes had soared 3 percent in the previous session after a deal on European debt. The S&P index closed above its 200-day moving average for the first time since August, a sign of an improving trend for stocks after five straight months of losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.65 points, or 0.10 percent, at 12,196.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.09 points, or 0.32 percent, at 1,280.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 10.96 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,727.67. Hewlett-Packard Co led the Dow higher, rising 2.3 percent to $27.62 a day after it said it was ditching a plan to spin off its personal computers unit, a plan that was expected to have cost billions of dollars in expenses and lost business.