国际英语新闻：Volatility rules as traders eye recovery, oil spill, debt crisis

NEW YORK, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Volatility ruled the U.S. equity market on Wednesday as a batch of mixed economic and corporate reports as well as fresh European debt worries dented market's optimism in recovery.

Shares have been moving up and down in a narrow range most of the time on Wednesday, one day after the Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 200 points.

As of Wednesday's closing, the Dow inched up 4.69, or 0.05 percent, to 10,409.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 0.62, or 0.06 percent, to 1,114.61. The Nasdaq was up 0.05 point, basically flat in percentage change, to 2,305.93.

Stocks rose from the day's lows and stabilized in late afternoon trading after BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said the oil firm will suspend payments of dividends. In a separate report, BP is said to be required to set up 20 billion U.S. dollars in escrow fund for Gulf oil spill victims. BP shares ended 1.4 percent higher to 31.85 dollars in New York trading.

Stocks fell earlier after disappointing housing data and European debt concerns weighed on the market.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments fell 10 percent in May, the month after the government ended its homebuyer tax credit program, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000. Applications for new building permits, a sign of future activity, sank 5.9 percent to an annual rate of 574,000, the lowest level in a year.

The sharp drops added to concerns that the U.S. housing sector was still struggling without the aid from federal stimulus program and could not fuel the recovery.

In Europe, new concerns over Spain's debt problem reemerged in the market, pushing the premium that investors demand to hold 10- year Spanish government bonds rather than eurozone benchmark German Bunds to a euro lifetime high.

In corporate news, courier service provider FedEx's fiscal 2011 forecast fell short of analysts' expectations. The company said it saw a continued "moderate recovery" in the global economy.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares tumbled nearly 40 percent after the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the two companies' conservator, announced that it has directed both to delist their common stock and preferred stock from the NYSE and any other national securities exchange.