By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks finished little changed on
Wednesday after erasing early losses that followed a selloff in
Asian and European equities.
Analysts attributed the morning selling to worries about China's
slowdown and Russia-Ukraine tensions, and they also emphasized a
lack of new catalysts.
"Basically, we have no economic numbers to speak of today," said
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
The market just followed the international markets in the early
going, but it didn't show signs of collapsing and stayed near its
record highs, he said.
The S&P 500(SPX) ended up 0.57 point, or less than 0.1%, at
1,868.20, with utilities and tech faring best among the index's 10
sectors. The benchmark, which had been down 0.7% intraday, snapped
a two-day losing streak and stands just 0.5% off Friday's record
close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) dipped 11.24 points, or
0.1%, to close at 16,340.01, slipping for the third day in a
row.
The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) gained 16.14 points, or 0.4%, to
finish at 4,323.33, halting a four-session losing streak.
Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei
benchmark and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shedding 2.6% and 1.7%,
respectively. The Stoxx Europe 600 finished down 1.1% for its
lowest close in a month.
A much larger than-expected decline in Chinese exports rocked
markets at the start of the week and continued to inspire worries
on Wednesday. Leaders of the Group of Seven nations warned Russia
on Wednesday not to annex Ukraine's Crimean region.
Copper, a proxy for global growth, has slumped this week on the
China worries, though it rallied somewhat on Wednesday. High-grade
copper(HGK4) for May delivery has traded below $3 a pound this
week, a level not seen by the metal since July 2010. (Read more:
China's role in copper's slide: Why investors should care
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/03/12/chinas-role-in-coppers-collapse-why-investors-should-care/.)
The U.S. economic calendar was empty on Wednesday, leaving
investors to focus on the overseas news -- as well as look ahead to
Thursday's reading on retail sales and next week's Federal Reserve
meeting.
Among individual stocks, VeriFone Systems Inc.(PAY) jumped 11%.
Late Tuesday, the maker of electronic payment devices reported a
fiscal first-quarter loss but it also guided second-quarter revenue
above Wall Street's forecasts.
On the downside, Express Inc.(EXPR) shed 12% after the clothing
retailer said fourth-quarter earnings fell 25% due to extensive
promotions and discounting. (Read more in the Movers & Shakers
column
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oxigene-doubles-fannie-and-freddie-extend-fall-2014-03-12.)
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