NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday but finished sharply off their session lows as a rally in Hewlett-Packard's shares offset worries about weak Chinese manufacturing data and the prospects of the Federal Reserve reducing its monetary stimulus.
HP soared 17.1 percent to $24.86 a day after raising its profit outlook.
The Dow Jones industrial average shed 12.44 points, or 0.08 percent, to end unofficially at 15,294.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 4.81 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,650.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 3.88 points, or 0.11 percent, to close unofficially at 3,459.42. (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)