Thursday, January 26, 2012

Wall Street slips as European shares edge up

A month-long rally on Wall Street appears to be sputtering as stocks slipped on Thursday in what investors called a possible warning of weakness ahead.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 22.33 points, or 0.18 percent, at 12,734.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 7.60 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,318.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 13.03 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,805.28.

European shares hit a six-month high, boosted by cyclical stocks such as miners and banks, as strong data from the United States and the overnight US Federal Reserve commitment to an easy monetary policy boosted market sentiment.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares finished 1.2 percent firmer at 1,051.72 points, the highest close since August. The index, which fell 10.7 percent in 2011, is up 5 percent this year.

Japan's Nikkei average pulled back from a three-month high today as disappointing results from robot-maker Fanuc weighed on the index, while Tokyo Electric surged after sources said the troubled utility would agree to a $13 billion bailout.

The benchmark Nikkei slipped 0.4 percent to 8,849.47, after rising 1.1 percent to its highest closing level in three months yesterday and gaining for the sixth out of the past seven sessions.

The broader Topix index eased 0.4 percent to 764.61 in moderate volume, with 1.96 billion shares changing hands on the main board, down from 2.2 billion shares yesterday.