Blue chips slip on Wall Street

Blue chip stocks on Wall Street slipped as analyst downgrades overshadowed the weekend's deal activity.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5.07 points to 12,268.19, weighed by a 1.4% fall in Wal-Mart Stores after a downgrading by JP Morgan Chase. Verizon Communications was also weak, down 1.3%.

General Electric rose 1.1% after agreeing to buying a division of UK firm John Wood Group for $US2.8 billion in cash to bolster its oil and gas services business. Energy stocks were higher as Brent crude hit a two-year high.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3% to 2817.18 while the S&P 500 index edged up 0.2% to 1332.32.

Other markets: Europe mixed, Asia up
European stocks gave up early gains, though the mining sector remained well supported.

London's FTSE 100 was down marginally at 6062.27. The French CAC-40 Index was down 0.1% at 4096.62 while Germany’s DAX rose 0.3% to 7396.63.

Asian markets ended higher as investors looked beyond worries about inflation in China on relief over Friday's resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Japanese stocks rallied despite data showing a contraction in the nation's fourth-quarter gross domestic product. Japan also lost its slot as the world’s second largest economy to China.

The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.1% to 10,725.54 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also climbed 1.1% to 4935.82.

Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.9% to 8685.47, Korea's Kospi jumped 1.9% 2014.59 and India's Sensex, among the worst performing benchmarks in Asia so far in 2011, gained 2.7%. to 18,202.20.

Commodities: Oil mixed, gold steady
US crude futures fell to a two-month low despite growing Middle East unrest, as the gap between oil prices in the US and Europe increased to the widest on record.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the most widely traded oil contract and a price benchmark in the US, settled at a two-month low, down 77USc, or 0.9%, at $US84.81 a barrel in New York.

By contrast, Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US2.14 higher at $US103.08 a barrel, settling at a two-year high.

Prices of gold futures held steady, as safe-haven buying abated amid easing tensions in Egypt.

The thinly traded contract for February delivery was up 0.3%, or $US4.10, at $US1364.00 an ounce in New York. The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, was up 0.3%, or $US4, at $US1364.40 an ounce.

Currencies: Euro up, dollar down
The euro rebounded modestly from a three-week low against the dollar, but remained weaker on the day as investors continued to worry over the fragility of the region's financial sector.

The euro had bounced back to $US1.3477. It was at $US1.3547 late on Friday.

The dollar weakened slightly to ¥83.31 from ¥83.47. The euro moved to ¥112.28 from ¥113.08. The dollar moved to 0.9708 Swiss franc from 0.9733 franc.