Wall Street pares loses on energy rebound; Shake Shack, Amazon rally

By Sinead Carew

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks pared earlier losses to trade little changed Friday afternoon amid a rebound in the energy sector as oil prices surged on expectations for a supply decline due to a falling rig count.

The S&P energy sector was up 1.5 percent at 2:30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) after falling as much as 1.5 percent earlier in the session. The rebound came as crude futures rose 8 percent following a survey that showed that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States fell by 94 this week, the biggest decline since 1987.

Also, concerns over fighting in Iraq extended short covering from the previous session. U.S. crude futures settled at $48.24 per barrel, up $3.71, hitting a level not seen since Jan. 22.

On top of this, investors may be making some changes as the month draws to a close, said Brian Lazorishak, senior portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel.

"You might have a little technical action," he said. "It seems like an oversold bounce."

At 2:33 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average fell 30.41 points, or 0.17 percent, to 17,386.44, the S&P 500 lost 0.66 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,020.59 and the Nasdaq Composite added 8.04 points, or 0.17 percent, to 4,691.45.

If the S&P closes January in the red, it would be its first back-to-back monthly decline since April-May 2012.

Earlier in the session, the market was under pressure from signs that U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as weak business spending and a wider trade deficit offset the fastest pace of consumer spending since 2006. [ID:nLNSUCEB6E]

"It's just a little disheartening to see the U.S. didn't have such a great quarter and it puts a little bit of fear in the minds of the people," said Joseph Benanti, managing director for sales and trading at Rosenblatt Securities in New York.

Adding to concerns, Greece's finance minister said the government would not cooperate with the European Union and International Monetary Fund mission bankrolling the country and would not seek an extension of the bailout program. [ID:nL6N0V93VX]

Consumer spending was a bright spot as data showed U.S. consumer sentiment rose in January to its highest in 11 years on better job and wage prospects.

That confidence appeared to be reflected in some corporate results. Amazon shares jumped 14.7 percent after earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on strong holiday season sales. [ID:nL1N0V83DA]

In contrast to the broader market on Friday, shares in newly public burger restaurant Shake Shack rose more than 130 percent to $48.35 in their first day of trading.

Google Inc shares rose 5 percent to $538.17 even as revenue growth of 15 percent in the fourth quarter fell short of Wall Street's target. [ID:nL1N0V83DY]

Visa rose 4.7 percent to $259.67 after it reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and announced a 4-for-1 split of its class A common stock. [ID:nL4N0V87LG]

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,704 to 1,342, for a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 1,745 issues fell and 941 advanced for a 1.85-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 18 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 40 new highs and 68 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)