US stocks edged lower today after a seven-session winning streak on the S&P 500 and a jobless claims report which provided few clues into the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decisions about stimulus policy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.96 points, or 0.17 percent, at 15,300.64. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 5.71 points, or 0.34 percent, at 1,683.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 9.042 points, or 0.24 percent, at 3,715.97. Europe’s broad FTSE Eurofirst 300 index was down 0.02 percent.
European shares gave up early gains led lower by a sales update from Swiss luxury goods group Richemont and by data giving a weaker-than-expected view of the euro zone economy.
Richemont fell 3.5 percent after five-month sales missed expectations, with the company reporting weak demand for its high-end watches in mainland China.
After starting the session on a stronger footing, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 traded down 0.3 percent, after industrial production in the euro zone fell 1.5 percent in July, compared with a 0.1 percent increase expected by economists.
The index was down 0.1 percent at 1,246.32.
Despite the industrial data, expectations that growth is returning are helping European equities. The Euro STOXX 50 set a two-year high on Wednesday, before dropping 0.3 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 is just 0.9 percent away from May’s five-year high, and is up 4.1 percent over the last two weeks, helped by hopes of growth and a calming of international tension over Syria.
The United States and Russia are set to meet in Geneva to discuss the best way to remove Syria’s chemical weapons.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average dropped in choppy trade as the stronger yen hit exporters, while Sharp Corp tumbled following versions that it plans to raise as much as 150 billion yen ($1.5 billion) through a public share offering.
The Nikkei dropped 0.3 percent to 14,387.27 after briefly entering positive territory earlier. The index has moved away from a seven-week high of 14,561.46 hit the previous day.
The Topix shed 0.4 percent to 1,184.36.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald