Tech stocks fail to halt Wall Street slide

After leading the market higher during most of the session, technology stocks failed to stem a broader market slide on Wall Street amid mixed signs about the economic recovery.

Oil prices remained steady on news the first oil shipment in seven weeks is about to leave eastern Libya, where the anti-Gaddafi alliance holds power.

The US Institute of Supply Management said activity in the services sector softened in February, highlighting the uneven state of the economic recovery. Share prices started to slide after the release of minutes from a recent Federal Open Market Committee, though it contained no surprises.

Volume remained light a day after the lightest trading session since New Year's Eve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 6.20 points lower at 12,393.15 (8am NZT). Microsoft gained 2%, Cisco was up 2.2% and Alcoa rose 2.4%.

The S&P 500 index eased slightly to 1332.63 while the Nasdaq Composite was up marginally to 2791.19.

Apple fell 0.2% after Nasdaq OMX, the New York exchange operator, said it would rebalance the Nasdaq 100, effective at the start of trade on May 2. Apple’s weighting will be cut from more than 20% to around 12%.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks edged higher, helped by a rally in technology shares on the back of the Texas Instruments takeover for National Semiconductor in the US.

Shares of German chip maker Infineon Technologies rose 3.9% in Frankfurt, STMicroelectronics advanced 2.5% in Paris and UK microchip designer ARM Holdings gained 2.6% in London.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2% to 280.91. The UK’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% to 6007.06, while France's CAC-40 and Germany's DAX ended flat at 4041.74 and 7175.31, respectively.

In Asia, Japanese stocks were beaten down on signs the nation's nuclear crisis may not be resolved in the near term and parts-sourcing uncertainty for car makers.

Stocks in Sydney advanced as the recent strength in commodity prices and merger-and-acquisition-related activity attracted buyers, although exchange operator ASX skidded after saying that Australia was likely to reject Singapore Exchange's proposed takeover. Shares of Singapore Exchange, or SGX, jumped.

The Nikkei Stock Average slid 1.1% to 9615.55 after Tokyo Electric Power began dumping radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 4900.1 and Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.2% to 3146.75,.

India's Sensex fell 0.1% to 19686.82. Markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed for a holiday.

Commodities: Oil mixed, gold hits record
Global oil markets moved in different directions, with US-traded contracts falling while European futures rose to 32-month highs.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 13USc lower at $US108.34 a barrel in New York after falling as low as $US107.50 earlier in the session.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange added $US1.16, or 1%, to $US122.22 a barrel, its highest settlement since August 1, 2008.

Gold futures surged to a fresh record. The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, rose $US19.50, or 1.4%, to settle at $US1452.50 an ounce in New York.

Silver hit a new 31-year high as the April contract rose 69.1USc, or 1.8%, to settle at $US39.175, its highest finish since January 21, 1980.

Currencies: Dollar dips against euro, gains on yen
The US dollar gave up gains after briefly strengthening against the euro and the yen after the release of minutes from a recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The euro fell to $US1.4208, though quickly recovered its losses to reach $US1.4238, compared with $US1.4217 late on Monday.

The dollar initially jumped against the yen to reach its highest levels since September, but quickly retrenched. The dollar traded at ¥84.66 from ¥84.03, while the euro was at ¥120.46 from ¥119.52.

The pound fetched $US1.6288 from $US1.6125.