By Sinead Carew
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged down late in Friday's session on the last trading day of February, led by technology stocks, but oil prices rebounded for their first monthly gain since June.
European shares broke multi-year records ahead of the European Central Bank's planned moves to stimulate growth.
The Nasdaq was the weakest of the three major U.S. indexes,weighed down by Apple
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 64.28 points, or 0.35 percent, at 18,150.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 4.75 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,105.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 21.56 points, or 0.43 percent, at 4,966.33.
After falling sharply on Thursday, crude oil futures came back. Brent futures
U.S. gross domestic product expanded 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, revised down from 2.6 percent estimated last month, the Commerce Department said. The number barely beat economists' forecasts of 2.1 percent growth but slowed from a 5 percent rate in the third quarter.
However, pending home sales rose to their highest level in 1-1/2 years in January and the University of Michigan's final February reading on consumer sentiment slipped from an 11-year high but topped expectations.
"That maybe set a tone for the market that wasn't wildly ebullient," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
The MSCI All-Country World equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.12 percent, after rising almost 4 percent this year.
Investors in Europe have bought more higher-yielding assets, such as equities, as yields on core European government bonds have tumbled into or close to negative territory ahead of the ECB's quantitative easing program.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares <.FTEU3> closed up 0.38 percent after reaching its highest level since November, 2007. It has surged over 14 percent this year, its strongest start since benchmarks were created in 1986.
The ECB is expected to give details at its meeting next week on its Jan. 22 decision to embark on a securities-buying program to fend off deflation and revive Europe's economy.
The dollar gained slightly, rebounding from losses against the euro and the yen after the U.S. GDP number, which supported views the world's biggest economy will grow at a moderate pace.
The dollar index <.DXY> was on track for its eighth straight month of gains against a basket of major currencies, which would be its longest streak of monthly gains since the currency's link to gold was dropped in 1971.
U.S. Treasuries were on track toward 1.6 percent decline for the month, which would be the biggest monthly loss since May 2013, according to Barclays data, on concerns about the Federal Reserve's timeline for hiking interest rates.
"We're just back and forth," said Ellis Phifer, market strategist at Raymond James in Memphis, Tennessee. "The data is extremely mixed at this point, so we?re looking for something to give us a little direction at this point about the economy."
(Additional reporting by Emelia Sithole-Matarise in London and Sam Forgione in New York; Editing by Louise Ireland and Dan Grebler)
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