A stronger than expected reading of consumer confidence and a lift in Apple's profit were overshadowed by a late selloff in financial stocks on Wall Street.After trading in the black for most of the session, all three main indexes ended in the red.The Con
A stronger than expected reading of consumer confidence and a lift in Apple's profit were overshadowed by a late selloff in financial stocks on Wall Street.
After trading in the black for most of the session, all three main indexes ended in the red.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose more than expected to 55.9 in January from 53.6 in the previous month, versus forecasts for a reading of 53.5.
Another report showed house prices fell for the first time in seven months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2.57 points, or less than 0.1%, down at 10,194.29. Earlier in the session, the Dow had been up as much as 55 points.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3% to 2203.73, while the S&P 500 Index eased 0.4% to 1092.17.
Apple climbed 2.5% reporting a stronger-than-forecast 50% profit rise during its fiscal first quarter, though iPhone shipments lagged estimates.
Canada's sharemarket was largely unchanged, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index finishing the day at 11,361.19, a drop of 6.68 points, or 0.01%.
European shares fell, as declines for miners amid worries over Japan's fiscal health and lackluster growth from the UK economy offset better-than-expected earnings from Siemens and Novartis.
The pan-European DJ Stoxx 600 index was down 1.6% at 246,67.
The UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.7% to 5222.81, hit by weaker-than-expected GDP data.
The German DAX dropped 0.8% to 5586.96 and the French CAC-40 was 0.7% lower at 3756.8.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude oil futures were down as renewed concerns about restrictions on Chinese bank lending pushed the dollar higher and weighed on equities.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery traded 98USc, or 1.3%, lower at $US74.28 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 84USc, or 1.1%, lower at $US72.85 a barrel.
January gold futures fell $US2.20, or 0.2%, to $US1093 an ounce in New York. The most-active April contract was down 40USc, or 0.04%, to $US1096.40.
Currencies: Dollar, yen up
The US dollar rose to the highest in more than a month as news that China is taking further steps to rein in bank lending and Japan's debt rating is in jeopardy drew investors away from riskier currencies.
The dollar gained 0.4% to $US1.4095 per euro, from $US1.4151 yesterday.
The yen appreciated 1.3% to ¥126.13 per euro, from ¥127.75, after reaching ¥125.68, the strongest level since April 28. The yen also advanced 0.9% to ¥89.51 per dollar, from ¥90.28.
The UK pound fell 0.5% to $US1.6161.
