US stocks mixed

Wall Street closed narrowly mixed today as investors wrestled with record-high commodities prices and data that pointed to a continually weakening economy.

Investors have been trying to decide whether recent pessimism about the US economy has been well-founded or overwrought.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index of US manufacturing activity came in today at 48.3 – a bit stronger than the 48.1 the market expected, but still its lowest level in nearly five years.

Furthermore, the Commerce Department reported that construction spending in January fell by 1.7%, the steepest drop in 14 years.

“The two economic numbers that came out today were still rather on the negative side and they point to further weakness in economic activity,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners.

However, rising commodities prices – although they threaten to eat into consumers’ discretionary spending – encouraged Wall Street to pour money into energy, metals and mining companies.

Crude oil surged to a record near $104 a barrel before settling up 61 cents at $102.45, while gold soared to a record near $1,000 an ounce. Silver, corn and soybean prices also hit all-time highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average, after slumping more than 100 points briefly during afternoon trading, finished down 7.49, or 0.06%, at 12,258.90.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.71, or 0.05%, to 1,331.34, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 12.88, or 0.57%, to close at 2,258.60.