Stocks on Wall Street slipped as investors had second thoughts about the US Federal Reserve's anti-deflationary drive and the implications for economic growth.Some said the Fed's preparedness to provide further stimulus hinted at underlying weakness, whil
Stocks on Wall Street slipped as investors had second thoughts about the US Federal Reserve's anti-deflationary drive and the implications for economic growth.
Some said the Fed's preparedness to provide further stimulus hinted at underlying weakness, while others saw the cautionary approach as more positive.
Gold futures rose to a new record high of $US1292.10 an ounce while 10-year Treasury bond yields fell to 2.50%, the lowest level in three weeks.
The stock indexes were weighed down by a pullback in technology stocks after a strong month that had seen the Nasdaq gain 11%. Financials also weighed on the market, with JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all shedding more than 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 21.72 points, or 0.2%, to 10,739.31 at the close, while the S&P 500 index was down 0.5% to 1134.28 and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6% to 2334.55.
Hewlett-Packard slipped 1.6% and Microsoft fell 3% to lead the Dow's decliners. Microsoft's stumble came after the tech giant said late on Tuesday it would raise its quarterly dividend.
Adobe Systems plunged 20% after its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecast fell below market expectations.
Other markets: Europe down, Asia mixed
European stocks fell, although they were off their lows, as an initial upbeat reaction to US Fed moves proved short-lived.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 1.4% at 261.19, while London's FTSE 100 Index was down 0.4% at 5551.91. In Paris, the CAC-40 Index was 1.3% lower at 3735.05 and in Frankfurt the DAX index was 1.1% lower at 6208.33.
Asian stocks ended mixed, with property developers driving Hong Kong shares to a fresh five-month high. Japanese exporters fell on the yen's strength against the weak US dollar.
The Nikkei Stock Average finished 0.4% lower at 9566.32, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.2% to 4625.22, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.2% to 22,047.71, and India's Sensex fell 0.3% to 19,941.72.
Markets in China, Taiwan and South Korea were closed for public holidays.
Commodities: Oil down, gold up
Crude-oil prices turned lower after the market learned of a surprising increase in US stockpiles of oil and fuel products.
Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery was down 54USc, or 0.72%, at $US74.43 a barrel in New York, after rising as high as $US76. October futures expired at Tuesday's settlement at $US73.52 a barrel.
Brent crude oil on the ICE futures exchange traded 87USc lower at $US77.55 a barrel.
Spot gold continues to close in on $US1300 an ounce as the US dollar continues to weaken.
Gold prices have risen almost $US50 an ounce since the start of last week. Spot gold rallied to an intraday and new record of $US1296.25 an ounce, up 0.9% from Tuesday's settling price.
In New York futures trading, the September delivery contract rose $US16.10, or 1.3%, to $US1288.50, while the most-traded December contract rose $US17.80, or 1.4%, to $US1292.10.
Currencies: Dollar down; euro, yen up
The US dollar fell against the euro, which shot above $US1.34, its strongest level since April.
Traders ditched the greenback on speculation the Fed could soon act to kickstart a slowing US economy.
The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks a trade-weighted basket of currencies, slumped to its lowest level since March before regaining some of its footing as stocks fell.
The dollar also fell to its lowest level since March 2008 against the Swiss franc.
The euro was at $US1.3383 from $US1.3247 from late on Tuesday. The dollar was at ¥84.43 from ¥85.12, while the euro was at ¥113.00 from ¥112.75.
The UK pound was at $US1.5642 from $US1.5627. The dollar was at 0.9870 Swiss francs from 0.9976.
