Wall Street eases as materials, energy fall

Investors abandoned red-hot commodity shares, while fears of lower supermarket profits hit food retailers, sending the S&P and Nasdaq lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 20.43 points, or 0.18 percent, to 11,691.18. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 1.67 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,270.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 10.27 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,681.25.

European shares hit their highest closing level in nearly a week, with oil majors contributing to the bulk of gains as commodity prices were boosted by strong manufacturing data from around the world.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.9 percent higher at 1,142.01 points, with Britain's FTSE 100, which has a large proportion of commodity shares, rising 1.9 percent on its first trading day of the year.

Japan's Nikkei stock average climbed to a 7-½ month closing high on its first day of trading for the year, helped by strong global manufacturing data that lifted equities worldwide and by a bounce in the dollar against the yen.

The benchmark Nikkei finished 1.7 percent or 169.18 points higher at 10,398.10.

The broader Topix index gained 1.5 percent to 911.80.