* Euro decline curbs stocks
* Cisco helps lift tech shares
* Bernanke says Fed could buy more bonds
* Indexes: Dow off 0.2 pct, S&P off 0.1, Nasdaq up 0.1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended little
changed on Monday, held in check by worries about Europe's debt
crisis, which frustrated investors looking for a reason to take
shares to new highs for the year.
Germany rejected a call for euro zone finance ministers to
increase the size of a 750 billion euro safety net for
debt-stricken members. For details, see []
A decline in the euro limited U.S. stocks' advance as the
two have have moved in a tight correlation recently, with the
euro acting as a proxy for debt concerns overseas.
Further adding to conflicting sentiment were downbeat
comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about
the economy, which offset his attempts to reassure markets the
Fed could step up its economic stimulus efforts if necessary.
[]
"The tone of his voice made me nervous. As a trader and a
manager, it made me nervous," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief
investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in
Charlotte, Vermont.
"I think he was trying to sell the American people because
he has been under pressure.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> dropped 19.90
points, or 0.17 percent, to 11,362.19. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> shed 1.59 points, or 0.13 percent, to
1,223.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> gained 3.46
points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,594.92.
Technology shares limited declines after positive brokerage
comments on Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O> and Cognizant Technology
Solutions Corp <CTSH.O>. Cisco rose 1.9 percent to $19.43 after
Oppenheimer raised the stock to "outperform," and Cognizant
added 0.7 percent to $69.80 after Goldman Sachs boosted it to
"buy." [] []
Despite the day's dip, analysts see the S&P 500 soon
breaking out of its recent range and surpassing its current
intraday high for the year just above 1,227 reached on Nov. 5.
Analysts view key resistance for the benchmark index at
1,228 because it's just above the year's high and coincides
with the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the 2007-2009
bear market slide.
"If the (euro) problem is again, pushed forward and that
relief comes off the market, the market will probably push
higher here towards new highs into year-end," added
Mendelsohn.
Also looking ahead in equities, Goldman Sachs Asset
Management Chairman Jim O'Neill, speaking at the Reuters 2011
Investment Outlook Summit in New York, gave a bullish view on
stocks, saying global equity markets are likely to see gains of
up to 20 percent through 2011. []
(For other news from the Reuters 2011 Investment Outlook
Summit, click on
http://www.reuters.com/summit/InvestmentOutlookDec10)
Volume was light with about 6.27 billion shares traded on
the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and
Nasdaq, well below the year-to-date average of 8.62 billion.
Declining stocks slightly outnumbered advancing ones on the
NYSE by 1,502 to 1,464, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat
decliners by a ratio of about 4 to 3.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
