US Stocks closed sharply lower Thursday, ending a six-day rally as investors questioned the run up in the face of an unclear recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 93 points, or 0.9%, to close at 10,197.01, according to early tallies. Energy and financial shares led the decline.
The S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 11 points, or 1%, to end at 1,087.18, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 15 points, or 0.7%, to settle at 2,149.02.
Some analysts are saying "We've had this unprecedented rally off the lows we saw in March, so a pause today [is] normal. I would tend to think a correction will come soon, but there's been so much momentum. It wasn't a tidal wave of selling. But with the stock market and the dollar so closely tied lately, it did have an effect."
LONDON - European stock markets wilted on Thursday, as investors awaited the University of Michigan US consumer confidence index due on Friday, although London managed a small gain on prospects for a merger of British Airways and Iberia of Spain.
The FTSE 100 index rose 9.75 points, or 0.19 per cent, to finish at 5,276.50 points.
BA shares jumped 7.5 per cent on news that British Airways and Iberia were holding board meetings on a merger that would create a European giant to rival Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
FRANKFURT - The DAX 40 slid 4.39 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 5,663.96 points.
PARIS - The CAC 40 fell 6.32 points, or 0.17 per cent to end at 3,808.07.
Oil prices were lower after US crude oil inventories data indicated weaker US demand.
At 0659 AEDT, New York's main contract, light sweet crude oil for delivery in December, had fallen $US2.47 to $US76.81 a barrel.
The Australian stock market has received negative leads from overseas, with Wall Street's key stock indices lower and commodities prices weaker.
At 0657 AEDT on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was down 20 points at 4,742.
In economics news on Friday, the Australian Office of Financial Management is to conduct a tender of $700 million of June 2014 Commonwealth Government Treasury bonds.
GOLD DOWN $8.10 to US$1106.60 an ounce SILVER DOWN 27.2 US cent to US$17.265 an ounce COPPER down 1.85c at US$2.9475 a pound
13 November EU consumer price index (CPI), Oct EU GDP, Q3 Japan industrial production & capacity utilisation, Sep US import prices, Oct US Michigan Uni consumer confidence, Nov US trade balance, Sep
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