Wall Street ends flat as uncertainty rules

US stocks drifted sideways in what is likely a temporary pause in a sell-off brought on by growing fears of another economic downturn.The benchmark S&P 500 rose for only the second time in the past nine sessions while the Nasdaq 100 managed to survive a fall below its 200-day moving average at 2,218, quickly reversing those losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.14 points, or 0.01 percent, to 11,953.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.88 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,271.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 4.04 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,639.69.

European shares closed higher, bouncing from hefty falls in the previous week, with telecommunication stocks buoyed by gains in index heavyweight Vodafone .VOD.L which rose on the back of a target price hike.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index provisionally ended 0.2 percent higher at 1,091.94 points, rebounding from near-oversold conditions on its Relative Strength Index (RSI) hit on Friday, when the index shed 1.3 percent.

The Nikkei stock average lost ground in thin trade, hurt by a surprise fall in Japanese machinery orders, further signs of a global economic slowdown and share declines for Toyota Motor Corp after a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast.

Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly dropped in April in a sign that disruptions to energy supplies are impeding capital expenditure although demand should later rise when the country rebuilds its earthquake-ravaged northeast coast.

The benchmark Nikkei fell 0.7 percent to 9,448.21, while the broader Topix shed 0.6 percent to 812.26.