Wall Street Closes Erratic Week Mixed

Wall Street finished an erratic week narrowly mixed Friday after a government report of a steep decline in new home sales stirred concerns that weakness in housing will continue to dog the economy. The major indexes lost ground for the week. The Commerce Department report that new home sales fell 9 percent from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000 triggered renewed nervousness that consumers could become uneasy and tamp down their spending. Stocks, which fell more than 1 percent Thursday following unwelcome economic readings and the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, fluctuated through the day Friday.