Stocks close mixed ahead of job report

NEW YORK - Wall Street closed narrowly mixed yesterday as investors traded cautiously ahead of the Labor Department's report this morning on December employment.

Inflation jitters remained high as oil prices set a new trading record above $100.

Investors who sent stocks skidding Wednesday amid economic concerns and rising oil prices initially took some solace in findings released yesterday by payroll company Automatic Data Processing Inc. The ADP report said the economy added 40,000 private-sector jobs last month, above the 30,000 forecast of economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Also yesterday, the Labor Department said the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, although these statistics reflect unusual factors related to the holidays.

Meanwhile, oil set a fresh record of $100.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after government figures showed a larger-than-expected decline in crude-oil inventories.

Analysts said more expensive oil was stirring some concerns about rising prices in general and whether the Federal Reserve would still have room to lower interest rates.

"We are worried about inflation," said Nicholas Raich, equity research director at National City Private Client Group, of Cleveland. "That's probably the biggest risk in 2008."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 12.76, or 0.10 percent, to 13,056.72.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was unchanged at 1,447.16, and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 6.95, or 0.27 percent, to 2,602.68.

The market has been waiting for this morning's employment report because of the link between jobs and consumer spending.

A slowdown in spending among consumers fearful of losing their jobs, or not being able to find new ones, would be regarded as a heavy blow to the economy.

The continuing rise in commodities prices, including a likely uptick in gasoline prices after spikes in oil, makes some investors nervous about the ability of consumers to keep spending.

Stocks drew some support from a Commerce Department report that orders to U.S. factories rose in November by the largest amount in four months. However, an important reading of business investment fell for a second straight month.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a ratio of about 8-7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.32 billion shares.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.54, or 1.13 percent, to 745.01.

In trading abroad, Britain's FTSE 100 closed up 0.98 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.51 percent, and France's CAC-40 slipped 0.08 percent. Markets in Japan were closed for a bank holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.44 percent.