Wall Street stocks closed flat on Monday (12/11/2012) local time (Tuesday (11/13/2012) morning local time), because of continuing concerns about the "fiscal cliff", spending cuts and tax increases at the end of the year, overshadowing the data encouraging trade from China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.23 points (0.00 percent) at 12,815.16. Broad-market index S & P 500 index edged up 0.15 points (0.01 percent) to 1380.00, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 0.61 points (0.02 percent) to 2904.26.

"Rising concern about the 'fiscal gap' U.S. continues to stifle passion (bulls), maintaining stock under control," said analysts at Charles Schwab & Co.


Stocks opened modestly higher, but difficult to stay out of negative territory in thin trading volume.

Official data are encouraging Chinese trade over the weekend to provide support to the market. China's export growth accelerated in October drove to a second-straight month in a row, new evidence that the world's second largest economy was already recovering from the slowdown.

United Technologies led the Dow higher, rising 1.5 percent, followed by AT & T, up almost one per cent. Hewlett-Packard lagged, down 1.5 percent.

In action mergers and acquisitions, holding company Leucadia National will buy the remaining shares it does not own of the global investment banking firm Jefferies Group, the company announced. Leucadia and Jefferies fell 3.0 percent jumped 14.0 percent.

Titanium Metals jumped 42.6 percent after it announced it would be acquired by Precision Castparts in a 2.9 billion dollar deal. Precision increased 4.9 percent.

Research In Motion's shares rose 3.2 percent after it announced the launch of BlackBerry smart phones next generation 10 on January 30.

D.R. Horton fell 5.8 percent. Large residential developer based in Texas reported a big jump in fiscal fourth-quarter profit from a year ago amid improving the ailing housing market.

Donald Horton, chairman of the company, said: "We are in a position for a strong start to fiscal year 2013, with the backlog (backlog) Our highest since the end of fiscal year 2007."

Smaller rival, Beazer Homes USA, tumbled 17.3 percent after reporting a bigger-than-expected loss for the fourth fiscal quarter.

On Friday, U.S. stocks rose slightly, ending the trading week with a two per cent amid rising concerns about the fiscal cliff, automatic spending cuts and the expiration of a tax break at the end of the year, except for Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise to avoid it.