US STOCKS-Wall St ends flat after mixed signals in jobs data

* May payrolls fall, unemployment rate soars
* Profit-taking weighs, but indexes up for 3rd week
* Dow up 0.2 pct; S&P 500 off 0.3 pct; Nasdaq off 0.03 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]
(Updates close with new paragraph 1, adds Dow coming close to
turning positive for the year)

By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks flip-flopped
throughout Friday's session, with the major indexes ending
split as investors paused to consider conflicting signals in
monthly U.S. jobs data.

Investors also sold some recent winners to take some
profits from the spring rally, which has driven the S&P 500 up
almost 40 percent from its 12-year closing low on March 9.

Trading was choppy as the stock market initially started
higher and then drifted lower as investors reassessed the
implications of the latest jobs report.

The Labor Department reported that employers cut 345,000
jobs in May -- substantially less than analysts had forecast
-- but the U.S. unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent, its highest
since 1983.

The data underscored that the U.S. economic picture
remained uncertain even after some recent signs of
improvement. For details, see [ID:nPEK762]

"There was a mixed bag from the economic news," said Ryan
Detrick, senior technical strategist at Ohio-based Schaeffer's
Investment Research.

"Initially people saw the 345,000 number and everyone got
a little excited, then realized the unemployment rate was
worse than expected, and there's the fact that it's Friday and
the sellers took advantage to take some profits."

Investors opted to book profits from the market's recent
winners -- materials, energy, financial and technology
shares.

Shares of JPMorgan (JPM.N) dropped 2.3 percent to $34.55
on the New York Stock Exchange, while Chevron Corp (CVX.N)
slipped 0.6 percent to $69.37, and Newmont Mining (NEM.N) lost
5.5 percent to $44.84.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 12.89
points, or 0.15 percent, to 8,763.13. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index .SPX declined 2.37 points, or 0.25 percent, to
940.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dipped 0.60 of a
point, or 0.03 percent, to 1,849.42.

DOW NEARLY TURNS POSITIVE FOR YEAR

During Friday's seesaw session, the Dow flirted once again
with turning positive for the year -- rising 1 percent to a
session high at 8,839.40, for a gain of 63.01 points or 0.72
percent from its year-end 2008 close. By the end of the day,
though, the Dow had cut its gains but still ended just 13.26
points, or 0.15 percent, from the break-even point.

Despite a subdued session, all indexes registered their
third straight weekly advance. The Dow rose 3.1 percent and
the S&P 500 gained 2.3 percent, while the Nasdaq climbed 4.2
percent.

On Nasdaq, Intel Corp (INTC.O), the world's top chip
maker, was one of the biggest drags, falling 1.3 percent to
$15.92 after an industry group forecast a steep drop in global
chip sales. [ID:nBNG480632]

The semiconductor index .SOXX dropped nearly 2 percent.

Even so, those investors betting on a turnaround in global
economic prospects snapped up shares of big manufacturers and
exporters, including aircraft maker Boeing Co (BA.N), up 4.1
percent at $52.65. United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) climbed
2.3 percent to $56.39.

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) , a Dow component,
added 0.4 percent to $51.07 after the world's biggest retailer
unveiled a $15 billion stock-buyback plan. [ID:nN05274546]

As a discount retailer, Wal-Mart is one of the companies
expected to thrive in a downbeat economy.

Friday's volume was moderate on the New York Stock
Exchange, where about 1.26 billion shares changed hands, below
last year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. On the
Nasdaq, about 2.31 billion shares traded, above last year's
daily average of 2.28 billion.

Despite the Dow's modestly higher finish, decliners
slightly outnumbered advancers by 1,539 to 1,460 on the NYSE.
On Nasdaq, about five stocks fell for every four that rose.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)