Stocks on Wall Street fell marginally, ending a four-day winning streak and dragged down by financial shares as investors' concerns mounted over banks' foreclosure practices.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just 1.51 points lower at 11,094.57, a da
Stocks on Wall Street fell marginally, ending a four-day winning streak and dragged down by financial shares as investors' concerns mounted over banks' foreclosure practices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just 1.51 points lower at 11,094.57, a day after the index hit its highest close in more than five months.
Bank of America dropped 5.8% and JP Morgan Chase fell 3.1% as major banks reviewed their foreclosures after temporarily suspending evictions.
Investors were worried that banks may not have set aside enough for their their repurchase liabilities in light of the foreclosure investigations.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.2% to 2435.38 and the S&P 500 index was down 0.4% to 1173.81, weighed by the financial sector.
Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
Banking stocks fell as analysts anticipated that European banks would need to raise substantial capital to meet tougher regulations under Basel III.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.2% lower at 265.68. The UK's FTSE 100 shed 0.4% to 5727.21 and France's CAC-40 eased 0.2% to 3819.17.
Germany's DAX bucked the trend, adding 0.3% to 6455.27.
Shares touched 52-week highs in Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Indonesia.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 1.9% to 9583.51, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.7% to 23852.17, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.7% at 4699.09, Indonesia's JSX Composite edged 0.2% higher to 3618.48, and Thailand's SET rose 0.1% to 993.72.
The benchmark indexes in South Korea and Taiwan both rose 1.3%, with the Kospi ending at 1899.76 and the Taiex finishing at 8215.45. India's Sensex retreated after hitting the 52-week high, ending down 0.9% to 20497.64.
Commodities: Oil down
Crude futures rose marginally as the US dollar fell, though prices have retreated from earlier highs on falling US demand.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery traded 7USc higher at $US83.08 a barrel in New York after rising as high as $US84.12 earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 14USc lower at $US84.50 a barrel.
Gold futures remained near an all-time high as the US dollar continued to decline.
The most-actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, was up $US5.40, or 0.4%, at $US1375.90 an ounce in New York. It hit $US1388.10 in electronic activity overnight, the strongest-ever price for a most-active contract.
Currencies: Dollar down, euro up
The US dollar fell sharply against a broad range of currencies as prospects for Asian economic growth contrasted with the likely need for more stimulus in the US.
A surprise monetary-tightening move by the Monetary Authority of Singapore accelerated the dollar's slide, knocking the greenback to long-term lows against rivals in Asia, Europe and North America.
The euro broke to $US1.4123, its highest level since January. The Canadian dollar traded below parity for the first time since April, while the Australian dollar hit 99.93USc, its highest point since it was floated in 1983.
The dollar also dropped to an all-time low against the Swiss franc at 0.9464 franc, though it has regained some poise in New York trading.
The euro was at $US1.4057 from $US1.3957 late on Wednesday. The dollar was at ¥81.46 from ¥81.77, while the euro was at ¥114.50 from ¥114.12.
The UK pound was at $US1.5976 from $US1.5892. The dollar was at 0.9537 Swiss franc from 0.9594 franc.
