Thursday's early afternoon trade: rally loses steam

US stocks slipped on Thursday as concerns over increasing disorder in Egypt and signs of exhaustion in the recent market rally weighed on investor sentiment. But major indexes were well off their lows by early afternoon, possibly showing their strength to carry the rally after a minor pullback. Data pointing to a recovery in the US economy also supported stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.88 points, or 0.10 percent, at 12,030.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.86 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,302.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.43 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,748.13.