US open: Stocks low while Dow shy of 20,000 mark
US equity markets were down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained at touching distance of the 20,000 mark, while the dollar fell.
On Tuesday, the Dow notched up its seventeenth record close, ending up 0.5% at 19,974.62, just shy of 20,000. The blue-chip index first hit the 10,000 level for the first time in 1999.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shaved off 0.08% to 19,958.78, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 2,268.56 and the Nasdaq fell 0.16% to 5,475.26 at 1505 GMT.
In currency markets, the dollar was down 0.11% versus sterling to 0.8076, 0.5% against the euro to 0.9579, and 0.52% versus the yen to 117.25.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “The one real opportunity for excitement – the Dow hitting 20,000 – has so far proven to be elusive, the US index approaching that landmark level only to quickly shy away from actually crossing the mark. Even news that US home sales at are a near decade peak couldn’t convince investors to send the Dow to that long sought after record high.”
Meanwhile, oil prices were mixed as data earlier from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 4.1m barrel drawdown in US crude inventories in the week ended 16 December, which was a bigger drop than expected.
Brent crude fell 0.09% to $55.30 a barrel, but West Texas Intermediate was up 0.22% to $53.42 at 1436 GMT.
Gold on Comex increased 0.34% to 1,137.40 per troy ounce.
Elsewhere in Europe investors eyed the fate of Italy’s third biggest lender, Banca dei Paschi di Siena as it braces for a state bailout.
Shares in Monte dei Paschi were in the red but well off earlier lows after Italy's lower house of parliament and Senate approved a government request to borrow up to €20bn to underwrite the country's beleaguered banking sector.
Earlier, shares in the bank were suspended after they fell 17% as it warned that its liquidity is expected to run out in four rather than 11 months’ time.
Over in Spain, bank stocks also dropped after the European Court of Justice ordered lenders to repay billions of euros earned on floor clauses in mortgage deals before May 2013.
On the data front, existing home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.7% to 5.61m in November, the strongest monthly reading since February 2007. This was ahead of the 5.54m predicted by analysts.
The 5.57m sales in October was revised down to 5.6m.
In corporate news, Coca-Cola nudged 0.23% higher after agreeing to buy a 54.5% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa from Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev for $3.15bn.
Shares dipped in JP Morgan Chase 0.41% and Citi Group 0.77% after the Swiss regulator COMCO fined the banks for rate rigging.
FedEx was 2.74% weaker after its second-quarter earnings late on Tuesday missed expectations, with revenue just a touch ahead.
Nike was rose 0.14% after its second-quarter earnings late on Tuesday beat analysts’ expectations.
On Thursday third quarter GDP figures will be released.