US Blue chips can't keep up the rally (ext)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed Thursday, after a big rally on Wednesday, as investors were reluctant to push prices higher amid ongoing worries about Europe.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 26 points, or 0.21%, to 12,020. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 2 points, or 0.2% to 1,244. But the Nasdaq (COMP) composite added 6 points, or 0.2%, to end at 2,626.

Stocks surged Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it will work with other central banks to support the global economy.

Tobias Blattner, economist at Daiwa Capital Markets, said the action "provided further momentum to the general improvement in investor sentiment this week."

"But yesterday's (over)reaction by markets to a policy measure that did little else than lowering the cost of U.S. dollar funding for banks in Europe and elsewhere just shows how desperately markets are searching for positive news during these difficult times," Blattner wrote in a note to clients.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a new treaty to increase solidarity and financial discipline across Europe.

"Let's face it, Europe can be swept by the crisis if it does not pull itself together, if it does not change," Sarkozy said in a lengthy speech addressed to the French people.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to discuss the need for a more centralized budget policies in a speech Friday.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said Europe needs a "new fiscal compact" to ensure that budget rules are respected and enforced.

In a comment that some investors interpreted as a sign the ECB could step up its rescue efforts, Draghi told the European Parliament that "other elements might follow" if the compact is adopted.

Setting the stage for Friday's closely-watched government jobs data, a report from Automatic Data Processing showed Wednesday that private-sector employment grew by 206,000 jobs in November.

A CNNMoney survey of 21 economists predicts that the monthly jobs report due Friday will show that the economy added 110,000 jobs in November. In October, 80,000 jobs were added to payrolls. Most of the gain will likely come from the private sector, where it's estimated another 135,000 jobs were added.

The dollar slumped against the euro and British pound, but rose versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for January delivery slipped 13 cents to $100.06 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery fell $9.10 to $1,749 an ounce.