Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Wall Street rises, European stocks fall

Global stocks waned on Tuesday after S&P warned of a possible downgrade for 15 euro zone nations, though analysts expressed cautious hope the move would spur European leaders into more decisive action to tackle the region's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 45.79 points, or 0.38 percent, to 12,143.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 0.09 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,256.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 10.75 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,645.01.

European equities finished weaker in a choppy, thinly-traded session, led lower by retail shares after the world's No.4 retailer Metro issued a profit warning saying the euro zone debt crisis was undermining consumer confidence.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.4 percent lower at 989.67 points after falling as low as 985.67. It has gained about 11 percent since hitting a three-week low in late November, but is down 11.5 percent so far in 2011. Volume was 77.5 percent of its 90-day average.

In Asia, The Nikkei share average slipped today, breaking a three-day rally, after the warning from Standard & Poor's raised fears of possible sovereign credit downgrades of top-rated European nations.

The benchmark Nikkei dropped 1.4% to 8,575.16. But it remained comfortably above its 25-day moving average, now around 8,545. The broader Topix index shed 1.4% to end at its session low of 738.01. Nearly ten issues declined for each that advanced.