Global shares fall after ECB boost
US stocks declined modestly on Wednesday as equities retreated from recent gains, while weak earnings from Oracle raised concerns about the health of the tech sector, pressuring the group and pushing the Nasdaq down more than 1 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 43.10 points, or 0.36 percent, at 12,060.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 3.60 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,237.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 43.63 points, or 1.68 percent, at 2,560.10.
European shares fell after the large take up by banks for cheap European Central Bank loans worried investors about the banks' funding needs and eroded hopes they would use the money to buy the region's peripheral debt.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 0.5 percent at 971.68 points after being up as much as 989.66, with volume thin at 87.1 percent of its 90-day daily average.
In Asia, the Nikkei stock average also climbed today in a market encouraged by smooth debt sales in Spain and positive housing data in the United States, but gains were capped by resistance at its 25-day moving average.The benchmark Nikkei rose 1.5% to 8,459.98, just below the closely watched 25-day moving average near 8,462. The broader Topix index gained 1% to 725.68.
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