US stock indexes mixed at end of trading

U.S. stock indexes began in negative territory Wednesday but finished the day mixed in late afternoon trading. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 7.04 points, 0.04 percent, to 13,175.64. The Nasdaq Composite was off 4.61 points, 0.15 percent, to 3,011.25. The Standard ansd Poor's 500 picked up 0.87 point, 0.06 percent, and closed at 1,402.22 -- ending the trading session at more than 1,400 for the second straight day. Foreign and domestic occurrences affected the stock indexes. Spain was forced to pay more to borrow in a $3.7 billion auction of short-term government debt and wider investor worry over the eurozone also forced Italian and German yields higher. Domestically, the U.S. Labor Department reported productivity increased at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter. However, labor costs rose 1.7 percent. On the New York Stock Exchange, the total listed volume was 3.08 billion shares. The 10-year U.S. treasury bond was yielding 1.649 at midday. Against the euro the dollar was $1.2361 Wednesday from $1.24 Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was 78.44 Wednesday from 78.62 Tuesday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed at 8,881.16, up 77.85 points, or 0.88 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 closed at 5,845.92, up 4.68, or 0.08 percent.