Close: U.S. stocks ended mixed

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday. The Dow hit a two-year high near resistance. Nasdaq by Oracle and Research In Motion's strong earnings push to rise significantly.

At 16:00 on December 17 EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.27 points to 11,491.98 points, down 0.06%; the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.66 points to 2,642.97 points, or 0.21%; the S & P 500 Index rose 1.02 points to 1,243.89 points, or 0.08%.

Among the major sections, raw materials, the best performing sector, telecommunications sector performance is the worst. Thursday, the Dow and S & P 500 Index since September 2008 at a new high.

The Conference Board announced that the United States, the United States in November leading economic indicators appeared the largest increase since 8 months, indicating that the rate of U.S. economic recovery next year, will accelerate. Tracking orders and new products, including data such as index of leading economic indicators rose 1.1%, in line with accepted average estimate of economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

However, overseas news renewed investor concerns. Agency Moody's Investors Service lowered its rating on Friday to Ireland 5 grades, from Aa2 cut to Baa1, and warned that if the country can not achieve the desired economic growth, its financial position will continue to deteriorate.

President Barack Obama will be signed Friday the two parties agreed to the tax cuts have been so for almost all Americans during the Bush tax cuts be extended for two years. After weeks of heated debate, the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday night approved the tax cut proposal.

European stock markets ended lower on Friday. New York gold futures rose $ 8.20, or 0.6%, to close at 1,379.20 dollars an ounce. Crude oil futures rose 32 cents to close at $ 88.02 a barrel.

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