Investors captured recent gains and sold off on positive news about the nation's unemployment rate. The Dow slipped a fraction to 12,019 while Nasdaq rose a fraction to finish the session at 2626.
On the upside
Financial stocks rallied after languishing lately. Shares of JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) were among the gainers.
Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) was upgraded by ThinkEquity from a hold to a buy as the hard drive maker recovered from recent floods in Thailand.
Shares of First Security Group (Nasdaq: FSGI) nearly doubled in value on light volume. No news was attributed to the gain.
On the downside
Investors sold off on healthcare-related stocks. Shares of Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA) and Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) were among the day's largest decliners.
An analyst mentioned that Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX), which was the least hit hard drive maker from the recent floods in Thailand, may eventually lose market share back to Western Digital.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 4 points to close at 735.
