U.S. Stocks ended mixed Tuesday, as investors awaited progress on Greek debt talks and reviewed another round of corporate results. In world markets, European stocks ended lower, with the declines led by both the FTSE 100 in Britain and the CAC 40 in France falling 0.5 percent. Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed for the Chinese New Year, while the Nikkei in Japan rose 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that world leaders should take steps to encourage economic growth rather than slash budgets. The IMF forecasted global growth of 3.25 percent for 2012, which is slower than the 4 percent pace it projected in September In U.S. company news, McDonald's reported that its net income rose by 11 percent in the fourth quarter. The world's largest burger chain said it earned a net income of $1.38 billion, or $1.33 per share, in the fourth quarter. Its revenue jumped 10 percent to $6.82 billion. On the other hand, Verizon reported that it lost $2.02 billion, or 71 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, while its revenue rose. The New York-based telephone company attributed its loss to the launch of the iPhone 4S of which 4.3 million were sold. The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and rose against the yen. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery fell 63 cents to $98.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $13.80 to $1,664.50 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33.07, or 0.3 percent, to 12,675.75. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.35, or 0.1 percent, to 1,314.65. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.47, or 0.1 percent, to 2,786.64.
