US stocks fell today, putting the S&P 500 on track to snap a four-day streak of record highs, as shares of Caterpillar and a number of chipmakers tumbled in the wake of their results.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 60.24 points, or 0.39 percent, at 15,407.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 9.03 points, or 0.51 percent, at 1,745.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 30.84 points, or 0.78 percent, at 3,898.73.
European shares fell in early trade after falls in banks following an asset quality review and disappointing earnings reports from the likes of Heineken took the steam out of a nine day rally.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 fell 0.7 percent to 1,279.28 retreating from a five year high, with all sectors in negative territory, even those usually resilient in falling markets.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average suffered its biggest decline in three weeks hit by the dollar’s tumble against the yen on heightened expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus in place until early next year.
The Nikkei dropped 2.0 percent to 14,426.05, retreating from a 3-1/2 week high of 14,799.28 touched in the morning session and breaching its 25-day moving average of 14,432.21.
Traders said that futures selling was triggered by weakness in the dollar, which slipped 0.8 percent to 97.36 yen. The Topix declined 1.5 percent to 1,195.98, with 2.72 billion shares changing hands, the highest since Oct 2.
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