* China's lending curb, European data raise recovery worry
* Weak commodity prices hit resource shares
* 3M falls after downgrade, RIM up on Wedbush comment
* Dow off 0.6 pct; S&P 500 off 0.4 pct; Nasdaq up 0.1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Updates to late afternoon, changes byline)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 edged
lower on Friday as China's move to curb bank lending and euro
zone growth data stoked fears that the global economic recovery
might be in jeopardy.
Even so, stocks were sharply off their earlier lows as
investors held out hope that the European Union would come up
with a more reassuring plan to aid debt-laden Greece and
restore confidence about countries using the euro.
Euro zone finance ministers are scheduled to meet on
Monday.
Stock laggards included big manufacturers and
commodity-related companies, many of which depend on Chinese
demand. Aluminum company Alcoa Inc <AA.N> dropped 2 percent,
while conglomerates United Technologies Corp <UTX.N> shed 1.7
percent and General Electric <GE.N> dipped 1.9 percent.
An increase in banks' reserve requirements by China marked
the second such rise in as many months. Investors worried
China, which has been driving the economic recovery, might be
withdrawing its stimulus too soon. For details, see
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In addition, data showed the euro zone's gross domestic
product barely expanded in the fourth quarter compared with the
previous quarter, missing economists' forecasts.
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"You have the lingering issue of the sovereign debt issue,
you have questions regarding growth in Europe, questions
concerning one of the main engines of growth, which is China,"
said Quincy Krosby, market strategist with Prudential Financial
in Newark, New Jersey. "It all adds to uncertainty in the
market."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> shed 58.35 points,
or 0.58 percent, to 10,085.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> dipped 4.19 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,074.28. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> inched up 1.76 points, or 0.08
percent, to 2,179.17.
Markets also fell on weaker-than-expected data on U.S.
consumer sentiment and business inventories.
The China policy move boosted the U.S. dollar and knocked
commodity prices and resource stocks lower. Crude oil futures
fell nearly 2 percent to $73.89 a barrel.
Worries over high unemployment eroded consumer sentiment
early this month. The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of
Consumers said its preliminary index of sentiment for February
was 73.7, below analysts' expectation of 75.0. []
Even so, the major stock indexes were on track to end the
week higher, halting a four-week string of declines, thanks in
part to investors scouring for shares in the beaten-down
sectors.
The Nasdaq was cushioned by BlackBerry maker Research in
Motion <RIM.TO> <RIMM.O>, which rose 3.3 percent to $71.48
after Wedbush Morgan started coverage with an "outperform"
rating, saying the stock was exceptionally well positioned.
The top drag on the Dow was 3M Co <MMM.N>, which fell 1.6
percent to $78.91 after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said it
expected slower growth from the manufacturer in the coming
cycle.
Ingersoll-Rand Plc <IR.N> shed 8 percent to $31.19 after it
reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street's
expectations and gave a first-quarter profit view that was
below consensus. []
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
