Stocks on Wall Street fell broadly on the final trading session of the year as an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims reignited worries over whether the US Federal Reserve will pull back on its stimulus programmes.The US Labour Department reported th
Stocks on Wall Street fell broadly on the final trading session of the year as an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims reignited worries over whether the US Federal Reserve will pull back on its stimulus programmes.
The US Labour Department reported that weekly jobless claims fell 22,000 to their lowest level in 18 months. Economists had expected a rise of about 3000.
Hewlett-Packard and Caterpillar lost at least 0.9% to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower. JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America were among the measure's few gainers, up 1% each.
The index was down 45 points, or 0.4%, to 10,502 for its best year on a percentage basis since 2003. It rose 20% for the year, compared with 2003's 25% rise.
The S&P 500 trimmed its 2009 gain to less than 25% after this year’s surge left it trading at 25 times its companies’ reported earnings, the most expensive level since 2002.
It is down 0.3% to 1122, with all its sectors except financials in the red. Utilities and industrials were the measure's worst-performing sectors.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite is down 0.3% at 2285.
Canadian stocks rose, led by energy producers and financial companies.
Cenovus Energy advanced 1% as fuel prices climbed on signs of an accelerating economy. Toronto-Dominion Bank added 0.7%.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index has added 34.91 points, or 0.3%, to 11,753.57.
The benchmark has jumped 31% this year and may post its biggest annual advance since 1979. The gauge is beating the S&P 500 for the sixth straight year, boosted by commodity-linked companies that make up 46% of Canadian stocks by market value.
European markets wrapped up their best trading year since 1999 with a slight gain in a shortened trading session.
Gains for miners and some banks helped the FTSE Eurofirst 100 to eke out a 0.2% gain to 3,345.58, in thin trading.
Austrian property group Immoeast was the biggest gainer in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 for the year, rising about 737%, while Volkswagen performed the worst, shedding 69% since the end of 2008.
The French CAC 40 index closed up 0.02% at 3936.33. Over the year, it has risen about 22%, with oil and gas services group Technip posting the biggest gain, of 127%. The worst performer was GDF Suez, which declined 14%, one of only four component stocks to lose ground.
The UK's FTSE 100 index ended 0.3% higher at 5412.88, a 22% gain over the year, with the mining sector showing the strongest rise. The year's biggest individual gainer on the index was the mining company Kazakhmys, with a 475% rise, while Royal Bank of Scotland was the worst performer, dropping 41%.
The German market was closed on New Year’s Eve but the main DAX index was up nearly 24% for the year.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude oil gained for a seventh day, supported by a weaker dollar, oil stock draws in the US and continued chilly temperatures across the northern hemisphere.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery traded 52USc, or 0.7%, higher at $US79.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 42USc, or 0.5%, higher at $US78.45 a barrel.
Gold futures returned above $US1100 an ounce in New York. The January contract was up $US12.10 to $US1103.60 while February gold was up $US9 to $1101.50.
Currencies: Dollar up, yen down
The dollar pared losses against the euro. It had climbed as far as $US1.4441 and the dollar had dipped below ¥92 yen as investors took advantage of the greenback's biggest monthly rally in almost a year to book some profits.
But after the jobless data's release, the euro fell below $US1.44, and the dollar rebounded to the highest level against the yen since September 8.
The euro was at $US1.4398 from $US1.4336 late on Wednesday. The dollar was at ¥92.64 from ¥92.46, while the euro was at ¥133.42 from ¥132.56.
The UK pound was at $US1.6194 from $US1.6074.
Canada’s dollar strengthened, heading for a second monthly gain against its US counterpart and its biggest yearly gain since 2007.
The currency advanced 0.7% to $C1.0481, from $C1.0553, and buys 95.41U.Sc.
