Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Wall Street edges lower on Portugal, China

Transportation stocks were among the standouts in another flat session for US equities, and the sector's rally could be cause for optimism ahead.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 56.15 points, or 0.45 percent, at 12,626.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.34 points, or 0.10 percent, at 1,339.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 8.25 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,834.02.

European shares snapped a seven-session winning streak after a Moody's downgrade of Portugal's sovereign credit to "junk" status fanned the flames of the euro zone debt crisis ahead of a regional interest rate-setting meeting.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares ended down 0.3 percent at 1,118.75 points, breaking its longest daily winning run since April but leaving the index on track to buck a two-month losing streak.

The Nikkei average rose to a post-quake high on Wednesday, gaining for a seventh session in its longest winning streak in two years, helped by continued buying by Asian and European investors and with worries fading about slower global growth.

The Nikkei rose 1.1 percent to 10,082.48, its highest since the Monday after the quake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan, with a break of resistance at its May 2 peak of 10,017, triggering a rush of buying in futures. The broader Topix index advanced 1 percent to 873.51, its highest in three months.