US STOCKS-Dow, S&P 500 dip on China lending curb; Nasdaq up

                                
  
                                
 * Stocks hurt by worries about growth, China lending
                                
 * Weak commodity prices hit resource shares
                                
 * 3M falls after downgrade, RIM up on Wedbush comment
                                
 * Dow off 0.4 pct; S&P 500 off 0.3 pct; Nasdaq up 0.3 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Adds volume)
                                
 By Ellis Mnyandu
                                
 NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 dipped on
Friday as China's move to curb bank lending and U.S. and
European economic data raised fears the global recovery might
be in jeopardy.
                                
 Even so, Wall Street stocks ended off the day's lows as
investors bet the European Union would come up with a clearly
defined plan to aid debt-laden Greece and restore confidence in
countries using the euro.
                                
 Stock laggards included large manufacturers and
commodity-related companies, many dependent on Chinese demand.
On the Nasdaq, bargain-hunting in technology helped the index
to end slightly higher.
                                
 But aluminum company Alcoa Inc <AA.N> fell 2.2 percent to
$13.28, while conglomerate United Technologies Corp <UTX.N>
shed 1.5 percent to $65.69 and bellwether General Electric
<GE.N> dipped 1.4 percent to $15.55.
                                
 An increase in banks' reserve requirements by China marked
the second such rise in as many months. Investors worried
China, which has been spearheading the world's economic
recovery, might be pulling back too soon. For details, see
[ID:nTOE61B069]
                                
 "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 <.DJI> dropped 45.05
points, or 0.44 percent, to 10,099.14. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> slipped 2.96 points, or 0.27 percent, to
1,075.51. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 6.12
points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,183.53.
                                
 Markets also fell on weaker-than-expected data on U.S.
consumer sentiment and business inventories and on euro zone
gross domestic product.
                                
 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. [ID:nN12156724]
                                
 Nevertheless, the major stock indexes ended the week
higher, halting a four-week string of declines, thanks in part
to investors scouring for shares in the beaten-down sectors,
particularly technology. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 rose 0.9
percent, while the Nasdaq climbed 2 percent.
                                
 "There may be a bit of buying and positioning going into
the 3-day weekend, assuming that the EU can iron out issues and
finalize agreements to help Greece," said Dennis Cajigas,
senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a retail brokerage
firm, in Chicago. Euro zone finance ministers are scheduled to
meet on Monday when U.S. financial markets will be closed for
Presidents Day.
                                
 Earlier on Friday indexes had fallen more than 1 percent.
                                
 Data showed the euro zone's gross domestic product barely
expanded in the fourth quarter compared with the previous
quarter, missing economists' forecasts. [ID:nLDE61B11U].
                                
 The Nasdaq's top boosts included BlackBerry maker Research
in Motion <RIM.TO> <RIMM.O>, which rose 3.1 percent to $71.33
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 1.4
percent to $79.18 after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said it
expected slower growth from the manufacturer in the coming
cycle.
                                
 Ingersoll-Rand Plc <IR.N>, which makes climate-control
systems, shed 7.8 percent to $31.26 after it reported
fourth-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street's expectations
and gave a first-quarter profit view that was below consensus.
[ID:nN11242598]
                                
 Total volume of 8.45 billion was traded on the New York
Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below
last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
                                
 Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 7 to 6, while on the Nasdaq, about three
stocks rose for every two that fell.
 (Editing by Kenneth Barry)