Stocks flat as energy rises, autos sag

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By Leah Schnurr

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Thursday as energy shares benefited from a bullish outlook for oil, offsetting uncertainty over the prospects of an automakers bailout and more signs of a deteriorating labor market.

Chevron was the Dow's top boost, rising more than 3 percent, followed closely by Exxon Mobil , which climbed more than 2 percent. A report from the International Energy Agency forecast global oil demand will rebound next year, sending oil up $5 to over $48 a barrel.

"The energy space is attracting a lot of attention here and commodities have gotten a lot of buying power, as well," said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"We don't know whether that's going to continue, but for the moment those beaten down sectors over the last several sessions have actually led the market higher."

But the fate of a $14 billion package of loans for General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co hung in the air in the U.S. Senate, a day after it passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

The White House urged skeptical Senate Republicans to back the bill but, Republicans appear to have more than enough votes to stop the bailout with a procedural roadblock.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was off 17.92 points, or 0.20 percent, to 8,743.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> edged down 1.64 points, or 0.18 percent, at 897.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slipped 8.26 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,557.22.

Shares of General Motors slid 9.6 percent to $4.16, while Ford gave up 5.5 percent at $3.07.

Investors also absorbed fresh signs of labor market deterioration. A U.S. Labor Department report showed the number of people filing for new unemployment benefits surged to a 26-year high last week after employers shed workers in anticipation of a tough recession.

Chevron was up 3.6 percent to $81.27, while Exxon gained 1.7 percent to $81.45. An S&P energy index <.GSPE> added 2.6 percent.

On the downside, financials weighed with the S&P index of financial shares <.GSPF> down more than 4 percent. JPMorgan Chase was the Dow's top drag, falling 5.8 percent to $31.56, while Wells Fargo & Co lost 8.9 percent to $26.60 after an influential analyst cut the bank's price target.

Traders said a rotation into energy shares was pulling some cash out of technology and financials, among sectors that have been at the forefront of the market's 20 percent run-up since hitting a November 21 low.

Providing a lift to the market were biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly and Co , up 3.4 percent to $36.19 after the company issued a solid 2009 earnings forecast.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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