Global markets slump as US reporting season starts

Stocks on Wall Street fell to their lowest level this month as investors worried about Europe's continuing debt crisis and the outlook for corporate earnings.

At the close (8am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 36.18 points, or 0.3%, to 12,736.29, its third-straight daily loss and the longest streak of declines since June 4.

The S&P 500 index gave up 0.2% to 1352.46. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2% to 2931.77.

Shares of Alcoa dropped 0.7% ahead of reporting sales drop and small loss in its second-quarter results, marking the kick-off of the reporting season.

Other markets: Europe, Asia down
European stocks closed lower and Spanish borrowing costs jumped as investors awaited news from the latest meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

Spain's 10-year government bond yield crept above the 7% mark to 7.06%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.4% to 253.46. Spain's IBEX 35 index dropped 0.8% to 6688.30 but had shed more than 6% at one point.

Germany's DAX lost 0.4% to 6387.57, France's CAC-40 also fell 0.4% to 3156.80 and the UK's FTSE 100 finished down 0.6% at 5627.33.

Asian markets fell on Monday as economic concerns gave Chinese and Japanese stocks their worst day of trading since early June.

The Shanghai Composite fell throughout the session, with losses accelerating as the day progressed, to finish 2.4% lower at 2170.81.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell back by 1.9% to end at 19428.09, led lower by energy and minerals stocks.

The Nikkei fell 1.4% to 8896.88, Australia's S&P ASX 200 lost 1% to 4118.3 and Korea's Kospi was 1.2% lower at 1836.13.

Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude-oil futures ended higher, buoyed by a weaker dollar and the likely possibility of a lockout in Norway.

Crude for August delivery added $US1.54, or 1.8%, to settle at $US85.99 a barrel in New York.

Gold futures settled higher as the US dollar weakened.

Gold for August delivery rose $US10.20, or 0.7%, to end at $US1589.10 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro lifts of two-year low
The euro edged higher against the US dollar after languishing near a two-year low last week.

The euro traded at $US1.2310, up from $1.2288 late on Friday. It dropped to as low as $US1.2265 in Asia.

The dollar was at ¥79.63 compared with ¥79.66, while the euro was at ¥98.040 from ¥97.81.

The UK pound bought $US1.5520 from $US1.5489, while the dollar changed hands at 0.975 Swiss franc from 0.9774 franc.