Stocks Again Stuck in Neutral

The markets finished mixed today as fears over the financial sector clashed with positive economic reports. Moody’s said it may downgrade ratings for Ambac Financial and MBIA because of continued mortgage-related losses, MarketWatch reports, helping the Dow down 12.37 to 12,390.48. The Nasdaq gained 22.66, closing at 2,503.14, while the S&P 500 lost 0.45 to settle at 1,377.20.

The US did add 40,000 jobs in May, beating forecasts. But the bad news from Moody's continued a rocky week for financials, and speculation continues that Lehman Bros. will report a dismal quarter. "The renewed crisis fears have really kept the market in check this week, even though the economic reports have been persistently better than expected," said one analyst. (More Dow Jones stories.)