Blue chips stocks on Wall Street took a tumble when American Express slid on new government debit-card moves.Amex slid 4% as investors absorbed the implications of US Federal Reserve proposals on debit-card interchange fees,Last week Visa and MasterCard a
Blue chips stocks on Wall Street took a tumble when American Express slid on new government debit-card moves.
Amex slid 4% as investors absorbed the implications of US Federal Reserve proposals on debit-card interchange fees,
Last week Visa and MasterCard also tumbled after the Fed's proposals, but it took most investors until Monday to react to the effects on Amex.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was mixed earlier in the session, moving between gains and losses, but but was down 13.78 points, or 0.1%, to 11,478.13 at the close (10am NZ time).
The broader market rose with the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.25% to 2649.56, while the S&P 500 index was also up 0.25% at 1247.08.
Other markets: Europe up, Asia down
European stocks rose, with the Italian market posting particularly strong gains. Airlines and retailers fell on fears of lost business caused by the severe winter weather.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.7% to 278.38. In Italy, the FTSE MIB index rose 1.5%, led by a 5.6% rally for shares of Banco Popolare.
On the downside, Greece's ASE Composite index slumped 3.2%, with National Bank of Greece tumbling nearly 5%.
The German DAX 30 index rose 0.5% to 7018.60, the FTSE 100 index ended up 0.3% at 5891.61 and the French CAC 40 index rose 0.5% to 3885.08, with Peugeot up 0.8% and Michelin up 1.6%.
Asian markets ended broadly lower after a volatile session that was dominated by geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula, although most stocks ended well off their lows.
Korea and China were the most volatile markets, with the Kospi ending 0.3% lower at 2020.28, after falling as low as 1996.44 earlier in the day. The Shanghai Composite, which skidded more than 3% earlier in the day, finished 1.4% lower at 2852.92.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.9% to 10,216.41, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to 22,639.08, Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.6% to 8768.72 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6% to 4736.58. India's Sensex rose 0.1% to 19,888.88.
Commodities: Oil down, gold up
Crude-oil futures turned lower, with an early boost from cold weather and mergers overshadowed by a rallying US dollar.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped 55USc, or 0.6%, to $US87.47 a barrel in New York.
Gold prices inched higher, supported by renewed European debt worries and tensions in the Korean peninsula.
The most actively traded contract, for February delivery, was up 0.4% or $US6, at $US1385.20 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Euro down, dollar up
Concerns about euro-zone sovereign debt continued to weigh on the euro, pushing it below $US1.31.
It also fell to all-time lows against the Swiss franc at 1.2636 francs.
A Moody's Investors Service downgrade of large Irish banks, and the rating agency's warning that 30 Spanish banks also could face downgrades, triggered fresh worry over the euro zone's fiscal footing.
The euro was at $US1.3118 from $US1.3185 late on Friday. The dollar was at ¥83.76 from ¥83.87, while the euro was at ¥109.88 from ¥110.58.
The UK pound was at $US1.5529 from $US1.5520. The dollar was at 0.9660 Swiss francs from 0.9700 francs.
