Wall Street pauses after recent rally

Stocks on Wall Street slid as the market took a breather after the Dow's climb last week to a nearly five-year high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average wad down 52.35 points, or 0.4%, to 13,254.29 at the close (8am NZ time). The Dow ended last week with its highest finish since December 2007.

While the Dow is up nearly 10% since early June, it has declined in 12 out of the past 14 sessions that started the week.

Technology-sector stocks were the Dow’s worst performers. Intel fell 3.9% after saying its revenue in the third quarter will be less than it expected.

The S&P 500 index was down 0.6% to 1429.08 while the Nasdaq Composite eased 1.0% to 3104.02.

Other markets: Europe down, Asia mixed
European stock markets ended down after a choppy session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.2% to 271.69 after having turned in its best weekly performance since early June. The benchmark rallied 2.3% last week after the European Central Bank outlined a plan to buy unlimited government debt.

London's FTSE 100 index closed marginally lower at 5793.20, the French CAC 40 index closed 0.4% lower at 3506.05 and the German DAX 30 index ended slightly lower at 7213.70.

Asian stock markets were mixed as weak Chinese economic data offset rising hopes for stimulus measures from the US Federal Reserve.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 0.1% higher at 19827.17, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3% to 2134.89.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 added 0.2% to 4333.80, Korea’s Kospi was down 0.3% to 1924.70 and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average ended flat at 8869.37.

Commodities: Gold falls
Gold edged lower as the market awaited chances of a fresh round of stimulus.

The most-actively traded contract, for December delivery, fell 0.5%, or $US8.70, to settle at $US1731.80 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro falls
The euro fell against most major currencies. It was at $US1.2782 versus $US1.2815 on Friday.

The euro was at ¥99.87 from ¥100.30 and the dollar was at ¥78.27 from ¥78.28. The pound was at $1.6006, from $1.6001.

The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index closed at 70.153 from 70.011.