US shares tread water, then sink

Stocks on Wall Street dropped in the final hour's trading as strong gains in energy stocks were kept in check by weak US manufacturing data.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region was contracting this month after seven months of expansion. The service sector also slowed but remained in expansion.

At the close (8am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 25.05 points, or 0.2%, to 12,356.21. The S&P 500 index was down 0.1% to 1316.28, as financial and industrial stocks struggled. But the energy sector jumped 1.6% after Goldman Sachs raised its crude-oil-price forecasts, saying global economic growth will continue to pressure spare capacity among major oil producers.

The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5% to 2746.16.

Other markets: Europe rebounds, Asia mostly higher
European stock markets rebounded modestly, helped by gains in commodity-related shares.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to close at 275.39, after slumping 1.7% on Monday on worries about the finances of some euro-zone nations.

The UK's FTSE 100 increased 0.4% to 5858.41, Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 7150.66 and France's CAC-40 added 0.3% to 3916.88.

Asian stock markets ended mostly higher as investors looked for bargains after a steep fall in global equities the previous day.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average finished 0.2% higher at 9477.17, Korea's Kospi added 0.3% to 2061.76, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.1% to 22,730.78 and Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.1% to 8756.61.

Chinese shares lost ground on worries about that country’s economic outlook. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.3% to 2767.06.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 4628.80, while India's Sensex rose 0.1% to 18,011.97.

Commodities: Oil, gold rise
Oil futures rose as the dollar weakened against the euro and several major investment banks raised their price forecasts.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose $US1.63, or 1.7%, to $US99.33 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange added $US2.03, or 1.8%, to $US112.13 a barrel.

Gold futures touched their highest level in almost three weeks as recent economic reports from the US and China suggested weakening growth. Gold for May delivery was up $US8.60, or 0.6%, at $US1523.90 an ounce.

Silver futures rose sharply. The May delivery contract was up $US1.339, or 3.8%, at $US36.240 an ounce.

Currencies: Euro gains strength
The euro rebounded from recent losses, boosted by a stronger-than-expected German business confidence report. Other commodity-linked currencies also climbed against the dollar.

The euro was at $US1.4101 compared with $US1.4049 late on Monday. The dollar was at ¥82.12 from ¥82.01, while the euro was at ¥115.74 compared with ¥115.18.

The UK pound fetched $US1.6181 compared with $US1.6113.