Markets in limbo over trade figures

In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.02 percent, 2.42 points, to 11,367.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.05 percent, 0.60, to 1,233.60. The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.04 percent, 1.17, to 2,617.84.

The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 12/32 to yield 3.26 percent.
The euro fell to $1.3185 from Thursday's $1.3243. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 83.94 yen from Thursday's 83.70 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.72 percent, 73.93, to 10,211.95.
Chinese customs officials said imports rose 38 percent in November from a year ago while exports rose 35 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said the deficit in goods and services rose by $6.4 billion in October compared to October a year ago with exports up 14.9 percent and imports up 15.9 percent.

From September to October, the U.S. trade deficit dropped from $44.6 billion to $38.7 billion, the bureau said.

The People's Bank of China said it would raise the reserve requirement for banks by 0.5 percent, the sixth increase this year.

Copyright 2010 United Press International,