Stocks End Choppy Session Mixed - Economic Growth Concerns Spook Investo

4:11 PM, Jun 4, 2012 -- After a choppy trading session, stocks ended mixed to near even as fears over a global growth slowdown and Europe's debt crisis sparked an early day sell-off in equities.

Stocks were indecisive today, bouncing between gains and losses as traders weighed concerns over sluggish economic growth and fiscal instability in the euro zone against the potential that central bankers would step up stimulus programs to revive the global economy.

In the U.S., Friday's weak jobs report remained on investors' minds. However, today chatter began to circulate that the weak jobs report may result in the Fed issuing further stimulus later this month.

Overseas, data released on Friday and into the weekend showed weak economic conditions throughout Europe and Asia. Unemployment in the 17 Euro countries was at a record-high 11% in April. Sunday's release of official PPI data from China showed a contraction in activity.

Commodities posted a mixed session. After a recent rally, gold for August delivery fell $8.20, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,613.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. During the session, it traded between $1,629.70 and $1,610. On Friday, gold posted its largest one-day advance since last August.

Oil ended higher, gaining momentum in the last hour of trading on bargain hunting. July crude settled at $83.98 a barrel, a 0.9% gain.

In company news, shares of Starbucks (SBUX) inched higher after the company announced that at 4:30 p.m Eastern the company will announce an initiative to further strengthen its core U.S. retail business.

Here's where the markets stood at end-of-day:

Dow Jones Industrial Average down 17.11 (-0.14%) to 12,1101.46

S&P 500 up 0.14 (+0.01%) to 1,278.18

NASDAQ Composite Index up 12.53 (+0.46%) to 2,760.01

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

Nikkei 225 down 1.71% to 8,295.63

Hang Seng Index down 2.01% to $18,185.59

Shanghai China Composite Index down 2.73% to 2,308.55

FTSE 100 closed for Diamond Jubilee.

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) CBLI Strong survival results for its randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled efficacy study of CBLB502 in 179 non-human primates.

(+) MTOX Agreed to be acquired by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH)

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) BONT Exchange offer and consent solicitation.