Friday, January 27, 2012

Global stocks slip as US GDP falls short

World stocks fell on Friday on news the US economy grew more slowly than expected in the last quarter of 2011, while the euro rose on hopes of an imminent deal on Greece's debt that could help avert a disorderly default.

US stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, at 12,660.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.11 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,316.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,816.55.

European shares ended down on Friday as disappointing US economic data prompted investors to cash in January's gains, dragging the blue-chip index to its first weekly loss since mid-December.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended the day down 1.1 percent at 1,040.69 points after closing in "overbought" territory on Thursday, the index's 14-day relative strength index showed. The pan-European gauge recorded a weekly loss of 0.2 percent, its first since Dec. 18.