Wall Street enters month of peril with outlook clouded

NEW YORK, Aug 31 (AFP) Wall Street returns from vacation season to enter what is historically the most perilous period of the year amid conflicting signals about the US economic outlook. brTrade over the past week was choppy as investors reacted to various data that pointed toward both economic weakness and strength. brIn the week to Friday, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.72 per cent to finish the week at 11,543.96. brThe broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 0.73 per cent to 1,282.83 and the technology- heavy Nasdaq composite shed 1.95 per cent to 2,367.52. brThe main indexes closed lower for the week but held onto gains for a strong August. The Dow rose 1.92 per cent, the Nasdaq 2.44 per cent and S&P index 1.78 per cent in the month. brThe market was set to reopen Tuesday after the Labour Day holiday, commencing what is traditionally a treacherous month. brMany investors believe October is the worst month for equity market returns. This can be partly attributable to the fact some large one-day declines have occurred in October, said David Templeton of the financial website Seeking Alpha.