Wall Street slumps for third day

Blue chip stocks fell for a third day as weak economic data and a negative outlook from Hewlett-Packard heightened fears of a slowdown in the global economic recovery.

However, the broader market recovered late in the session to finish largely unchanged.

US manufacturing production fell in April for the first time in 10 months as natural disasters in Japan disrupted the motor industry. Home construction also fell unexpectedly in April, an indication that the troubled sector will remain a drag on the economic recovery.

Commodities slumped with crude-oil futures trading below $96 a barrel and gold sliding below $US1480 an ounce.

H-P said it would cut back expenses and slow hiring plans as third-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of analysts' expectations. Its shares plunged 8.3% to lead blue chips lower. Caterpillar sank 3.9%, Alcoa dropped 3.5% and 3M fell 2.2%.

At the close (8am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 68.79 points, or 0.6%, to 12,479.58. The S&P 500 index moved less than a point to finish marginally lower at 1328.98, while the Nasdaq Composite also moved less than a point to finish slightly up at 2783.21.

Other markets: Europe falls, Asia mixed
In Europe, a choppy session ended firmly in the red as uncertainty over Greece and downbeat data from both sides of the Atlantic undermined sentiment. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 1% at 277.28, the UK's FTSE 100 index fell 1.1% to 5861.00 and France's CAC-40 index ended down 1.2% at 3941.58.

Germany's DAX closed down 1.8% at 7256.65 amid signs economic growth was easing.

Chinese and Australian shares crept higher as investors piled into beaten-down commodity-related sectors. Stocks in Mumbai were hit by disappointing results from State Bank of India. China's Shanghai Composite Index erased sharp early losses to finish 0.1% higher at 2852.77.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average also bounced off the day's lows to end up 0.1% at 9567.02. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 4683.9.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.3% to 22,901.08, Korea's Kospi slipped 0.1% to 2102.41, Taiwan's Taiex slid 0.3% to 8884.09 and India's Sensex fell 1.1% to 18,137.35.

Markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand were closed for holidays.

Commodities: Oil falls; gold slumps on Soros exit
Oil prices slid toward $US95 a barrel as the dollar strengthened against the euro. Crude futures were down $US1.69, or 1.7%, to $US95.68 a barrel in New York. Brent futures were 1.2% lower at $109 a barrel.

Gold prices fell after the hedge fund controlled by George Soros disclosed it had dumped almost all of its holdings.

Gold for May delivery was down $US15, or 1%, at $US1475.40 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Dollar gains on euro, yen
The US dollar strengthened against the euro and other higher-yielding currencies as more disappointing news emerged on the economy.

The euro was at $US1.4148 from $US1.4182 late on Monday. The dollar was at ¥81.35 from ¥80.76, while the euro was at ¥115.09 compared with ¥114.54.

The UK pound bought $US1.6199 from $US1.6204, while the dollar was at 0.8848 Swiss franc from 0.8838 franc.