* China's central bank raises interest rate
* Volume thin, blizzard hampers transport in Northeast U.S
* Dow down 0.2 pct, S&P up 0.06 pct, Nasdaq up 0.16 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to afternoon trade)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little
changed on Monday in a thinly traded session after a surprise
interest rate hike from China's central bank over the weekend.
In a quiet day for equities with no major economic data or
corporate news, trading volume, which usually dips during the
holiday season, was even lighter as a blizzard moved across the
northeastern United States on Monday.
Retail stocks were hit as the snowstorm on the heavily
populated U.S. East Coast kept many shoppers away from malls
just after Christmas, casting a pall on the final act of the
holiday season. The weekend's blizzard conditions, which shut
down airports and halted traffic, may also signal an end to
shoppers' appetite in the next few months. For details, see
[]
The S&P 500 retail index <.RLX> fell 0.5 percent,
underperforming the wider market.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 20.73
points, or 0.18 percent, at 11,552.76. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 0.74 points, or 0.06 percent, at
1,257.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 4.25
points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,669.85.
Wall Street notched a fourth week of gains last week.
China's central bank raised interest rates on Saturday for
the second time in just over two months as it stepped up its
battle to rein in stubbornly high inflation. The People's Bank
of China said it will raise the benchmark lending rate by 25
basis points to 5.81 percent and lift the benchmark deposit
rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent.
[]
"A bit of a setback in the U.S. stock market may help fuel
another rally if more of the sidelined money sees an
opportunity to jump into equities and out of bonds," said Harry
Michas, market analyst and stock index futures trader at
Chicago-based web site IHARmarketmonitor.com.
Among retailers, Nordstrom Inc <JWN.N> shares fell 2
percent to $41.95 and Macy's Inc <M.N> dipped 0.2 percent to
$25.12. RadioShack <RSH.N> was also off 0.4 percent at $18.41.
The financial sector was outperforming as shares of AIG
rose 8.6 percent to $58.99. The bailed-out insurer and its unit
Chartis Inc signed three separate credit agreements with their
lenders, totaling $4.3 billion. []
The S&P financial sector index <.GSPF> gained 0.8 percent.
In other corporate news, U.S. egg supplier Cal-Maine Foods
Inc <CALM.O> reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit,
hurt by higher feed costs which the company said would remain a
concern in fiscal 2011 as well. The stock was down 3.5 percent
at $32.65.
(Reporting by Angela Moon, Additional reporting by Doris
Frankel; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
