US stocks end mixed

Wall Street slogged through an uneven trading session today, finishing mixed as investors grappled with troubling consumer spending patterns, slower growth from the manufacturing sector and the latest news of Hurricane Katrina’s damage.

Investors saw a disturbing trend in the Commerce Department’s consumer income and spending report. While consumer spending rose by a solid 1% in July, incomes rose just 0.3%. People spent more than they earned for just the second time in 46 years, and the US nation’s savings rate fell to the lowest level yet recorded.