Wall St averts worst slide in 33 years

Stocks on Wall Street seesawed throughout the session but ended with the Dow industrials avoiding the longest slide in more than three decades.

At the close (8am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.25%, or 29.59 points, to 11,896.21, ending an eight-day slide and avoiding a slump that would have been the worst since February 1978.

Investors were focused on economic data in the wake of the debt ceiling agreement that ended fears of a US government default.

New figures showed the US services sector had softened and factory orders had fallen, adding to fears the economy was slowing. However, private-sector hiring in July came in a touch better than expected.

The S&P 500 index finished 0.5% higher at 1260.34 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.9% to 2693.07.

Other markets: Europe, Asia drop
European stock markets slumped as Italy's ability to finance its hefty debt shook investor confidence.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.9% to 256.98. The UK's FTSE 100 index slid 1% to 5718.39, while France's CAC-40 index shed 1.8% to 3522.79 and Germany's DAX dropped 2.3% to 6796.75.

Most Asian shares were beaten down on concerns about slowing global growth.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 2.1% lower at 9637.14, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index skidded 2.3% to 4332.8.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.9% to 21,992.72, and Korea's Kospi sank 2.6% to 2066.26. Taiwan's Taiex gave up 1.5% to 8456.86 while China's Shanghai Composite index ended little changed at 2678.48.

Commodities: Oil drops, gold rises
Oil futures fell to their lowest level in five weeks after a report from the Department of Energy suggested US oil demand remains weak.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery was down $US1.50, or 1.6%, at $US92.29 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe declined $US2.28, or 2%, to $US114.18 a barrel.

Gold futures continued their march into record territory. Gold for December delivery added $US21.80, or 1.3%, to settle at $US1666.30 an ounce in New York. Gold has added $US54, or 3.4%, since July 25, the start of the metal's most recent record run.

Futures rose as high as $US1675.90, a record intraday high for a most-active contract.

Currencies: Intervention sinks Swiss franc
The Swiss franc fell rapidly against the euro and dollar after the Swiss central bank surprised markets by introducing measures to curtail a surge to record highs.

The action succeeded in weakening the franc, which plunged 2.6% against the euro and more than 1.8% against the dollar.

The Swiss National Bank said it would trim its key three-month London interbank offered rate target to as close to zero as possible from 0.25%.

The euro traded at 1.1136 Swiss francs, up from a record low hit in Asia of 1.07946 francs.

The US dollar was trading at 0.77670 franc, compared with 0.7629 franc before the SNB's action.

The euro was at $US1.4319 from $US1.4202 late on Tuesday. The dollar was at ¥76.85 from ¥77.16, while the euro was at ¥110.04 from ¥109.52. The UK pound was at $US1.6421 from $US1.6299.