Stocks lower as 2012 trading winds down

Stocks on Wall Street turned lower on the last day of 2012 trading with the year hanging in the balance for the broad-shouldered Standard & Poor's 500 index. For the week, the S&P 500 has been trading on both sides of its Jan. 1 starting point, which was 1,257.64 points. It closed at 1,263.02 Thursday and went south Friday morning, dropping 3.54 points or 0.28 percent to 1,259.48. HSBC reported Friday China's diffuse Purchasing Managers Index of manufacturing activity remained below the break-even point of 50 in December, coming it at 48.7. It was the fifth month of contraction for China's manufacturing sector out of the past six months. In other Wall Street numbers, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.47 percent, 58.09 points, to 12,228.95. The Nasdaq composite index lost 0.13 percent, 3.48 percent, to 2,610.27. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 8/32 to yield 1.873 percent. The euro fell to $1.2957 from Thursday's $1.2961. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 76.99 yen from Thursday's 77.64 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.67 percent, 56.46, to 8,455.35. In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.1 percent, 5.51, to 5,572.28.