Stocks ended mixed Thursday after a morning rally lost momentum, as weakness in financial and oil shares competed with strength in technology and industrial stocks. Investors reacted little to news that Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy protection, a development that helped shares of rivals General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor. Although Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, a deal also has been negotiated to combine the automaker with Italian company Fiat, allowing Chrysler to stay in business. In economic news, U.S. weekly jobless claims declined, but continuing claims—the number of people receiving benefits for more than one week—surpassed 6.27 million for the first time. U.S. personal income and spending fell more than expected in March. Income fell 0.3 percent, and spending fell 0.2 percent. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery rose 15 cents to $51.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and the yen. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.61, or 0.2 percent, to 8,166.12. Exxon Mobil reported weaker profits that missed forecasts, and its shares fell 3 percent. Fellow oil stock Chevron declined 2 percent. GM shares jumped 6 percent on news of Chrysler's bankruptcy. Bank of America announced that Ken Lewis has been removed as chairman but will remain as chief executive. Shares rose 3 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.83, or 0.1 percent, to 872.81. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 5.36, or 0.3 percent, to 1,717.12. The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 2.78 to 5,513.36. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 4.22 to 1,416.59. And the Russell 2000 index fell 3.91 to 487.56.
