Global shares end mixed on global growth woes
US stocks closed out a second straight session of thin trading on Wednesday, with investors reluctant to make big bets ahead of a crucial meeting of the European Central Bank, which could announce new policies to help contain the euro zone's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 11.54 points, or 0.09 percent, at 13,047.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.51 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,403.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.79 points, or 0.19 percent, at 3,069.27.
European shares steadied at the close, in sight of earlier one-month lows, with investors avoiding big bets before Thursday's meeting of the European Central Bank, which might announce a bond-buying plan but offer limited details.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended flat at 1,079.24 points after touching 1,074.05, the lowest since early August, earlier in the session.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average fell to a near five-week closing low as soft US manufacturing data and construction spending added to concerns about a global economic slowdown. he Nikkei shed 1.1 percent to 8,679.82. The broader Topix shed 1.2 percent to 718.09.
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