World stocks fall, gold up on economy worries

The S&P 500 index rose, snapping a seven-day losing streak, but worries about the economy kept investors jittery and trading volatile.

Trading was the busiest since mid-March, with more than 10 billion shares changing hands as the S&P dipped to a new low for 2011 before storming back to finish higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 29.82 points, or 0.25 percent, at 11,896.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.29 points, or 0.50 percent, at 1,260.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.83 points, or 0.89 percent, at 2,693.07.

Britain's top share index fell more than two percent on Wednesday, driven lower by uncertainty over global growth, with commodity stocks heading the list of fallers.

The FTSE 100 sank to its lowest closing level since end-November 2010, dropping 133.88 points, or 2.3 percent, to 5,584.51, extending its losing streak to four days.

The Nikkei average fell 2 percent to a five-week low as more disappointing US data fuelled concerns about the health of the global economy, with players saying caution about yen intervention would not necessarily offer that much support.

The benchmark Nikkei shed 2.2 percent to 9,627.12 by the midday break. It breached its 75-day moving average of 9,716 in what some analysts said was a bearish signal.