Stocks on Wall Street dipped late in the session, defying better-than-expected US retail sales and taking a lead from investors rushing for gold.The US Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.4% in August, above economists' expectations and the secon
Stocks on Wall Street dipped late in the session, defying better-than-expected US retail sales and taking a lead from investors rushing for gold.
The US Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.4% in August, above economists' expectations and the second-straight months of gains.
Inventories at US businesses surged in July, while sales posted the biggest gain in four months, suggesting businesses are more willing to build stockpiles.
Meanwhile, spot gold rose to a new all-time high of almost $US1275 an ounce as investors piled out of the US dollar and into commodities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 17.56 points, or 0.2%, lower at 10,526.57.
Technology stocks lead the blue chips, with Hewlett-Packard up 3.3% and Cisco Systems gaining 2.4%. The Nasdaq Composite was the only main index to rise, up 0.2% to 2289.77.
The S&P 500 index finished marginally lower at 1121.06.
Other markets: Europe steady, Asia mixed
European stocks ended a choppy session nearly flat but a surge in gold prices to a record level of almost $US1275 an ounce suggested a certain wariness among investors.
Travel and leisure stocks weighed on the market. The sector was led lower by TUI Travel, whose shares fell 1.8% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was nearly flat at 266.40.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged higher at 5567.41, France's CAC-40 index and Germany's DAX added 0.2% to 3774.40 and 6275.41, respectively.
Asia stock indexes ended mixed as Tokyo stocks were lower while Sydney stocks closed up after hitting a new four-month high.
In Tokyo, shares of exporters were under pressure as the yen touched a new 15-year high against the dollar before the of results of unsuccessful attempt to unseat the ruling Democratic Party of Japan leadership.
The Nikkei Share Average ended 0.2% lower, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3%,
Korea's Kospi Composite was 0.2% lower, China's Shanghai Composite Index finished flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.2% and India's Sensex was 0.7% higher.
Taiwan's Taiex was 0.5% higher and Singapore's Straits Times Index was down 0.6%,
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude futures turned positive as a weak dollar and a shut pipeline in the US supported oil prices.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery traded 56USc, or 0.7%, higher at $US77.75 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 60USc, or 0.8%, higher at $US79.63 a barrel.
Gold rallied to a new all-time high of almost $US1275 an ounce as investors piled out of the US dollar and into commodities.
The former high was $US1265.50 an ounce, reached in June.
Spot gold topped out at $US1274.80 an ounce in London.
Currencies: Dollar down, euro up
The US dollar slumped broadly, hitting a 15-year low against the yen, a series of one-month lows against the euro and dipping below parity against the Swiss franc.
The Australian dollar climbed to its highest level in two years against the greenback, while the UK pound initially weakened before joining the anti-greenback stampede to advance nearly 1% on the dollar.
The euro strengthened to $US1.3018 from $US1.2876 late on Monday. The dollar weakened to ¥83.08 from ¥83.67, after touching ¥82.93, the weakest since May 1995.
The euro strengthened to ¥108.15 from ¥107.73. The UK pound strengthened to $US1.5566 from $US1.5421. The dollar moved to 0.9951 Swiss francs from 1.0076 francs, after touching 0.9934 francs.
