US stocks mixed Wednesday

New York stock markets were mixed Wednesday morning, despite gains in Asia and Europe. Moody's Investors Service decided not to downgrade Spain's credit rating, which gave investors confidence, although construction outlays were down 5.5 percent in the Eurozone in August, Eurostat said. The U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts were robust in September, gaining 15 percent compared to August on a seasonally adjusted annual basis. After strong rallies Monday and Tuesday positive data was not convincing enough to put Wall Street in a bullish mood. In early afternoon trading Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 0.87 points or 0.01 percent to 13,550.91. The Nasdaq composite index was up 1.24, or 0.04 percent to 3,102.41. The Standard and Poor's 500 index added 5.51 points or 0.38 percent to 1,460.43. The benchmark 10-year treasury note was yielding 1.803 percent. The euro rose to $1.3122 from Tuesday's $1.3055. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 78.96 yen from 78.89 yen. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 1.21 percent, 105.24 points, to 8,806.55. In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.69 percent, 40.37, to 5,910.91.