July 02, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 5, 1427

NEW YORK, July,1: US stocks ended the final day of the second quarter on a down note, slipping on Friday after weaker-than-expected data on Chicago-area manufacturing stirred concerns about the economy and offset fresh hopes for a faster turnaround at General Motors Corp.

The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Midwest manufacturing activity fell in June more than analysts had forecast, casting a shadow over the prospects for corporate profits.

Before the opening bell, General Motors shares shot up after news that one of the blue-chip company's largest investors is urging the automaker to consider a partnership with Nissan and Renault.

You have GM out there with positive news and the consensus was that we'd have a rally with some end-of-quarter marking up, said Ted Bretschger, principal in equity sales and trading at First Albany Corp. in New York. The Chicago purchasing number was a little light.

That was the only thing that was a little bit off of expectations. People may be calling it quits ahead of the holiday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 40.58 points, or 0.36 per cent, to close at 11,150.22.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 2.67 points, or 0.21 percent, to finish at 1,270.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 2.29 points, or 0.11 per cent, to end at 2,172.09.

For the second quarter, the Dow inched up 0.4 per cent, while the S&P 500 ended 1.9 per cent lower and the Nasdaq slumped 7.2 percent.

All three major indexes gained for the week, with the Dow advancing 1.5 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 2.1 per cent and the Nasdaq gaining 2.4 per cent.Trading was volatile in the final few minutes of the session as money managers made last-minute adjustments to their portfolios to try to match their mutual funds to a major market benchmark set to change at the close.

The Russell 3000 Index was rebalanced on Friday at the end of trading, compelling investors to try to buy shares at their closing price. Friday's Chicago PMI report for June painted a picture of slower-than-expected manufacturing activity in the heartland, while the region's pace of inflation picked up sharply.

The Chicago PMI's prices-paid index jumped to its highest since July 1988, signaling that the Federal Reserve may need to do more to battle inflation. That countered earlier government data showing inflation was contained.

GM's stock jumped 8.6 percent, or $2.35, to $29.79 on the

Weighing on the Nasdaq was Apple Computer Inc., whose shares fell after the company said on Thursday an internal probe had uncovered irregularities related to issuance of stock option grants between 1997 and 2001.

Apple shares fell 2.9 percent, or $1.70, to $57.27, making it the top drag on Nasdaq.

KLA-Tencor Corp. said on Friday the preliminary results of an internal investigation showed some discrepancy in the dating of stock option grants.

Shares of KLA-Tencor fell 1 percent, or 42 cents, to $41.57 on Nasdaq.

On Thursday, the stock market had soared, with the Nasdaq climbing almost 3 percent, as investors interpreted the Fed's policy statement as a signal the US central bank may pause after its latest rate increase -- the 17th in two years.—Reuters