Friday’s session was mixed. The Dow ended fractionally in the red zone. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed in positive territory. IBM and United Technologies led the Dow lower. Early gains faded as the session progressed amid continued concerns over Europe’s debt crisis. Fitch Ratings slashed France’s rating outlook to negative and put Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland and Cyprus on review for a downgrade. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the consumer price index was unchanged in November after falling 0.1% in October. Economists had anticipated a 0.1% increase. Excluding food and energy costs, the index edged up 0.2%, which was slightly higher than expectations of a 0.1% rise. Elsewhere, crude oil shed 34 cents to settle at $93.53 a barrel.
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