IBM, Intel results knock stocks

Stocks on Wall Street dropped as lacklustre earnings reports from two blue-chip technology companies dragged on the major indexes.

Disappointing earnings reports from IBM, whose shares fell 3.5%, and Intel, down 1.8%, ended a sharp two-day rally, during which the Dow gained 266 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 82.79 points, or 0.6%, to 13,032.75 at the close (8am NZ time).

The S&P 500 index gave up 0.3% to 1385.14, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.4% to 3031.45.

In other corporate news, Ebay's quarterly profit rose 20% but failed to move the share price; Yahoo! shares rose 3.2% after its result was ahead of expectations; and Halliburton shares rose 3.2% after it also beat earnings forecasts.

Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
Also weighing on investor sentiment was a drop in European stocks.

Spain's IBEX-35 slumped 4% to 7079.20, its fourth loss in five sessions, after the Bank of Spain said commercial banks would need €29.08 billion worth of extra provisions and €15.57 billion worth of core capital.

Another key auction of Spanish government bonds looms on Thursday.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7% to 257.71.

France's CAC-40 index dropped 1.6% to 3240.29 and Germany's DAX fell 1% to 6732.03.In London, the UK’s FTSE 100 index lost a more modest 0.4% to 5745.29.

Asian markets rose on the back of US.gains on Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite rose 2% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 2.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied 1.4%, Korea's Kospi added 1% and Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.3%.

Elsewhere, the Philippine stock benchmark rose 0.4% to 5,179.84, setting a record closing high.

In Mumbai, the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index rose 0.2% to 17,392.39,

Commodities: Oil, gold fall
Crude-oil futures tumbled to below $US103 a barrel after a US Department of Energy report showed a larger-than-expected buildup in weekly crude inventories.

Light, sweet crude oil for May delivery settled 1.5%, or $US1.53 lower, at $US102.67 a barrel. Front-month ICE Brent crude was down 84USc, at $US117.94 a barrel, its lowest price since mid-February.

Gold futures gave up the previous day's gains amid a weaker tone to equity markets and as investor attention turned to the upcoming government debt sale in Spain.

The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, fell $US11.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $US1639.60 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro falls
The euro fell slightly against the US dollar as a crucial Spanish bond auction cast a dark cloud on currency trading.

The euro was at $US1.3119 compared with $US1.3126 late on Tuesday.

The dollar traded at ¥81.23 from ¥80.84, while the euro was at ¥106.57 from ¥106.04.

The pound bought $US1.6021 from $US1.5924, while the dollar changed hands at 0.9160 Swiss franc from 0.9153 franc.