Stocks fluctuated in a choppy session on Wall Street but lifted toward the close after the release of minutes from a September meeting of the US Federal Reserve.These showed the central bank believed new steps would be needed to jump-start growth, barri
Stocks fluctuated in a choppy session on Wall Street but lifted toward the close after the release of minutes from a September meeting of the US Federal Reserve.
These showed the central bank believed new steps would be needed to jump-start growth, barring surprising improvements in the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 10.40 points higher, or 0.1%, at 11,020.40. The Dow's technology and financial components rose as investors grew hopeful for earnings reports due from Intel and JP Morgan.
Intel advanced 1.1% and added more in after-hours trading after its highest third quarter revenue.
JP Morgan climbed 1.7%, while Bank of America rose 2.8% as the Wall Street Journal reported that pay and bonuses on Wall Street would top a record $US144 billion.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished 0.65% up at 2417.92 and the S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to 1169.77.
Other markets: Europe, Asia down
European stocks drifted lower, with natural-resources stocks dragging broader measures lower. But technology stocks had a strong day, with the Stoxx Europe 600 tech index gaining 1.1%.
Overall, the Stoxx Europe 600 index ended down 0.3% at 262.48. The UK's FTSE 100 closed 0.2% lower at 5661.59. Germany's DAX lost 0.1% to 6304.57 and France's CAC-40 closed 0.5% lower at 3748.86.
Japanese stocks took a hammering thanks to deepening worries about a rising yen. Hong Kong, Korea and Australia were also lower.
The Nikkei Stock Average slumped 2.1% as the US dollar remained close to 15-year lows versus the yen. Hong Kong shares fell 0.4% to 23,121.70 after closing at their highest level since June 2008 on Monday.
Korea's Kospi shed 1.2% to 1868.04 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.7% to 4618.18.
Chinese stocks defied the broad trend to end higher as metals shares rose with the help of rising commodity prices. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2% to 2841.41.
Taiwan's Taiex gave up 1.1% to 8090.22 and India's Sensex declined 0.7% to 20,203.34.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude futures fell as investors grew nervous ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve that could offer clues on the central bank's plans to stimulate the economy.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery traded 74USc, or 0.9%, lower at $US81.47 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 56USc lower at $US83.16 a barrel.
Gold futures pulled back slightly as a stronger dollar prompted some investors to book profits from the metal's record rise.
The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, was down $US3.10, or 0.2%, at $US1351.30 a troy ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar, yen up
The dollar advanced against the euro on growing sentiment that the greenback's broad decline had gathered too much steam because of speculation about additional stimulus measures from the Fed.
The yen was higher against the dollar despite warnings of possible intervention from the Japanese government.
The euro was at $US1.3851 from $US1.3873 late on Monday. The dollar was at ¥81.75 from ¥82.12, while the euro was at ¥113.23 from ¥113.92. The UK pound was at $US1.5800 from $US1.5873. The dollar was at 0.9599 Swiss franc from 0.9644 franc.
