Wall Street treads water as earnings season starts

Blue chips stocks held their ground on Wall Street while the broader market slipped as investors trade cautiously ahead of the first-quarter corporate-earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up just 1.06 point to 12,381.11 at the close (8am NZT) after a mixed session. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3%, to 2771.51 and the S&P 500 index was also down 0.3% at 1324.44.

The mixed activity came as investors looked ahead to the first-quarter earnings season, which kicks off with Alcoa's report due after the market close.

Other markets: Europe, Asia down
European markets fell, led by a weaker car sector, though UK banks rose as a government-appointed commission announced long-awaited reform proposals for the industry.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.2% to close at 280.99. France's CAC-40 index shed 0.6% to 4038.70, Germany's DAX edged down 0.2% to 7204.86 and the UK's FTSE 100 index ended fractionally lower at 6053.44.

Australian stocks ended at their highest level in nearly a year, with BHP Billiton leading miners after saying it wasn't aware of the basis for speculation it planned to buy Woodside Petroleum.

Many other major markets declined, with Japanese stocks losing ground after data showed February's core machinery orders fell a sharper-than-expected 2.3% from the previous month.

The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.5% to 9719.70, facing selling pressure after the benchmark jumped 1.8% on Friday to clinch gains for a third successive week.

Korea's Kospi fell 0.3% to 2122.39, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.2% to 3022.75, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gave up 0.4% to 24303.07, Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.2% to 8880.27 and India's Sensex fell 1% to19,262.54.

Commodities: Oil down, gold heads to $US1500
Oil futures tumbled below $US110 a barrel as traders grew concerned that rising prices are beginning to weigh on demand.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell $US2.87, or 2.5%, to settle at $US109.92 in New York after hitting a fresh multi-year high of $US133.36 earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange dropped $US2.67 to $US123.98.

Gold futures fell on a calmer geopolitical outlook in the Middle East and the resolution of the US federal budget. The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, was down 0.4%, or $US6, at $US1468.10 an ounce in New York. The April delivery contract was also down $US6 at $US1467.40.

Currencies: US dollar gains against euro
The dollar rose modestly against the euro after investors booked profits that came on the back of a European Central Bank rate increase.

Despite its modest decline, the euro still hovered around 15-month highs against the dollar. It recently traded at $US1.4453 from $US1.4457 late on Friday.

The dollar was at ¥84.56 from ¥84.85 and the euro was at ¥122.28 from ¥122.89.

The UK pound was at $US1.6378 from $US1.6364.