US STOCKS-Wall St little changed, tech shares lag

* Chinese manufacturing picks up, boosts commodities

* U.S. manufacturing growth slows

* S&P hits resistance at 1,150 level

* Dow up 0.2 pct, S&P up 0.1 pct, Nasdaq off 0.2 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates after the open)

NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as data showing a slowdown in manufacturing last month helped take earlier gains out of the market and the S&P 500 hit a key resistance level.

The ISM manufacturing report offset enthusiasm earlier in the morning generated by data out of China showing a pick-up in its manufacturing sector. A mixed round of U.S. data left the market searching for direction as construction spending rose unexpectedly in August, while September consumer sentiment improved slightly, but remained at its weakest level in more than a year. For details, see [ID:nN01214936] [ID:nN30103576] [ID:nN01241612]

The S&P 500 also hit resistance after it climbed as high as 1,150.30 before losing ground. That level is viewed as the top of a recent range after stocks surged through September.

Technology shares were among the laggards as investors locked-in some profits the day after indexes wrapped up the best quarter in a year. Amazon.com was among the biggest weights on the Nasdaq, down 2.2 percent at $153.55.

"I think we're seeing a little profit taking in momentum stocks this morning -- names like Amazon, Priceline and Netflix, which were big winners last quarter," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 22.94 points, or 0.21 percent, to 10,810.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 1.40 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,142.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> eased 4.52 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,364.10.

On the upside, resource stocks gained as metal and oil prices made new recent highs. Shares in Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc rose 1.8 percent to $86.91 and Occidental Petroleum Corp rose 3.5 percent to $81.05.

In corporate news, shares in Hewlett-Packard fell 2.8 percent to $40.88 after the company named former SAP Chief Executive Leo Apotheker as its new CEO and president. [ID:nN30231665]

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch on Friday downgraded Caterpillar Inc to "neutral" from "buy," saying that after a recent run-up in the shares, it saw limited upside. Caterpillar's shares fell 0.8 percent to $78.05.

(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica) (Reporting by Edward Krudy and Leah Schnurr; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)