US STOCKS-Market largely flat as bank fears cool optimism

(Updates to add name of Keefe, Bruyette analyst in 8th paragraph)

By Kevin Plumberg

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as nagging fears about more bank losses and the biggest monthly decline in the job market in five years overshadowed earlier optimism that the credit crisis may be easing.

Nasdaq, however, edged higher, capping its best week since August 2006, helped by a 3.5 percent rise in Google as investors saw value in shares of the Web search leader following a 32 percent sell-off since the beginning of the year.

Fears about further weakness among banks and brokerages lingered. Bank of America Corp slashed its earnings view on top brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co Inc, while JPMorgan Chase cut its annual earnings estimate for Bank of America, largely on expectations for more write-downs. Bank of America, down 2.4 percent, was the biggest drag on the Dow.

Government data also dampened investor enthusiasm after it showed a third month of non-farm job losses and the highest unemployment rate in two and a half years, further evidence that a housing downturn and credit crisis may have pushed the economy into recession. For more see ID:nN04420853.

"Investors are processing the fact that the economic data is confirming what everybody believes, which is that we're in a recession. There's real anxiety about the earnings picture," said Frederic Dickson, senior vice president and market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

"We haven't seen the cuts in estimates being deep, yet the economic data suggests a weakening economy."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI> fell 16.61 points, or 0.13 percent, to end at 12,609.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX> was up 1.09 points, or 0.08 percent, at 1,370.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC> was up 7.68 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,370.98.