U.S. Markets Finish Flat On Mixed News

New York, NY (AHN) - A mix of positive and negative news led U.S. markets to close relatively flat on Wednesday.

The financial sector pulled back on reports that Moody's Investors Service may downgrade the Aaa ratings on Ambac Financial (ABK) and MBIA Inc (MBI). The financial sector finished lower by 0.8 percent with Bank of America (BAC) leading the way down 2.1 percent on the day.

According to an ADP employment report before Wednesday's market open, private companies added 40,000 jobs in the month of May.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 12 points or 0.10 percent while the S&P 500 index was flat. Technology was strong as the Nasdaq Composite put together a gain of 22 points or 0.9 percent.

The energy sector was the leader on the down side as it shed 1.6 percent. Oil closed down $2.01 or 1.6 percent, settling at $122.30. Energy saw weakness following the weekly inventory numbers reported at 10 a.m.

Lehman Brothers (LEH) saw another day of high volume trading after it released an internal report to CNBC stating it has shed 25 percent of bad debt and raised $8 billion in cash this year. Trading volume finished at 133 million, four times the company's average daily volume.