Wall St ends flat as energy gains offset sentiment

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks finished little changed on Friday as surging oil prices lifted energy shares and offset data that showed consumer confidence sank to its lowest in 28 years.

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose more than 1 percent each, supporting the Dow and S&P 500. Oil prices in New York closed at a record high above $126 on a weakening dollar and a Goldman Sachs forecast that crude would reach $141 per barrel. Earlier, U.S. oil futures hit an intraday record near $128.

The lofty level of oil prices helped drive down other sectors, however. An S&P index of retail shares .RLX was down 1.1 percent.

U.S. consumer confidence tumbled this month, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, as short-term inflation expectations hit their highest since the stagflation era of the early 1980s.

The consumer accounts for "around two-thirds to 75 percent of the U.S. economy. So I think when you look at energy prices and housing prices weakening in key areas, these are all aspects keeping the consumer weak, and sentiment numbers are reflecting that," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto.

For the week, stocks rose, however, and the S&P had its best weekly percentage gain in about a month, with data showing a modest rise in consumer prices in April contributing to the week's upbeat news.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 5.86 points, or 0.05 percent, to end at 12,986.80. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX inched up 1.78 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,425.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 4.88 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,528.85.

For the week, the Dow was up 1.9 percent, the S&P was up 2.7 percent and the Nasdaq was up 3.4 percent.  Continued...