US Stocks

The energy sector pulled U.S. stocks lower Wednesday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index posting its biggest one day drop in two months, as crude oil prices tumbled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 130.33 points, or 1.02%, to 12630.03.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 26.83, or 0.93%, to 2845.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 15.08, or 1.11%, to 1342.08, marking its biggest one-day drop since March 16. The energy sector was the biggest weight on the market, with Chevron Corp. (CVX) losing 2% and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) shedding 2.1%. Crude-oil prices fell as data pointed to a bigger than expected jump in crude inventories.

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A decline in the euro on renewed worries over the finances of Greece and Portugal helped drive the dollar higher, which only added to the pressure on crude because the commodity is inversely correlated with the U.S. currency. The market's turn for the worse began shortly before noon, as crude oil futures headed down toward the psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark. Soon afterward, CME Group halted trading in crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures for the first time in more than two years when gasoline dropped to its trading limit. The halt resulted in a five-minute delay in trading for all three energy futures contracts, and heightened investors' concerns.

The DJIA reached a low for the day at 12577.21. Walt Disney Co. was the Dow industrials' worst performer, with a 5.4% fall after the media and entertainment company reported earnings and revenue below analysts' expectations, hurt by factors ranging from a shortage of box-office hits to the earthquake in Japan. Intel Corp. helped temper the Dow's drop, with a 1.7% rise after the chip maker announced a 16% increase to its dividend.

European Stocks

European stock markets ended mostly higher Wednesday, buoyed by upbeat results from luxury group Hermes International and Danish shipper A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed 0.3% higher at 283.73, trimming earlier gains after a weak start for Wall Street. European investors focused on a string of upbeat earnings reports. Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk rose 4.4% in Copenhagen after reporting an 85% profit rise in the first quarter, beating analysts expectations.

In Paris, shares of luxury group Hermes surged 3.3% after the firm reported a 26% rise in first quarter sales, also exceeding analysts expectations. Hermes inspired gains in other luxury-goods groups, with Swatch Group AG up 1.7% in Zurich. In Paris, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA rose 2.3% and PPR SA added 1.6%, helping the French CAC 40 index gain 0.1% to close at 4,058.08. In London, shares of luxury fashion group Burberry Group PLC rose 2.7%.

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Shares of Marks & Spencer Group PLC gained 0.8% to 399 pence after J.P. Morgan Cazenove upgraded the retailer to overweight from underweight. However, the FTSE 100 index fell 0.7% to close at 5,976, pressured by HSBC Holdings PLC, whose shares dropped 1.3%. In Germany, Porsche Automobil Holding SE rose 1.4% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the car maker to overweight from equal-weight. Among other autos, shares of BMW AG gained 0.8%. The German DAX 30 index slipped 0.1% to finish at 7,495.05.

Asian Markets

Asian shares ended mostly higher Wednesday, with Japan's market gaining on a weaker yen and easing supply-chain worries, but the region's gains were capped as a batch of Chinese economic data suggested elevated inflation might lead to further tightening measures.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite ended 0.3% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%.

China's consumer-price index climbed 5.3% in April from a year earlier, while the producer price index, a measure of upstream inflation pressures, climbed 6.8%. The results compared with analysts' expectations for rises of 5.2% for the CPI and 7.0% for producer prices, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires.

Industrial output rose 13.4% on the year, compared with an expected 14.5% rise, and slowing from a 14.8% increase in March. Power generators fell after bumper gains in recent sessions. Huadian Power's Shanghai shares shed 2.3%, while its Hong Kong shares fell 3.2%. In Japan, shares rose on a weaker yen and as supply-chain worries eased somewhat with news of an earlier than expected restart at one of Renesas Electronics' chip-making plants. Toyota Motor shares rose 0.6% ahead of its earnings report.

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After the market close, Japan's top auto maker posted a 77% on-year plunge in net profit for the January-March quarter. The early factory restart at Renesas, a key auto-industry supplier, bolstered other auto makers, with Honda Motor up 2.1% and Nissan Motor up 2.0%. But Renesas closed down 3.8% after it projected a deeper than expected net loss for the fiscal year ended March 31. The Seoul market surrendered some of its morning-session gains after the release of the China inflation data. LG Chem added 3.0% to KRW520,000 and Honam Petrochemical rose 5.2%. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering jumped 8.0% following news it got a drill ship contract from Vantage Drilling.

Base Metals

Base metals closed lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, with copper finishing the afternoon's open outcry session down 2.3%, weighed by a stronger U.S. dollar. The metals slid in line with other dollar-denominated commodities as the greenback surged against the euro. The single currency was under further pressure Wednesday amid an anti-austerity strike in Greece and a new warning from Standard & Poor's that Portuguese banks may need further support. LME three-month copper closed down $205 at $8,700 a metric ton.

Gasoline futures plunged Wednesday, pulling the price of oil with it, after an unexpected rise in U.S. inventories. The drop was so steep that it triggered a rare five minute halt of all energy trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the first time in more than two years. June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled down 25.69 cents, or 7.6%, to $3.1228 a gallon on the Nymex, the biggest one day percentage decline since February 2009.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery settled down $5.67, or 5.5%, at $98.21 a barrel on Nymex. Brent crude oil on the ICE futures exchange settled down $5.06, or 4.3%, at $112.57 a barrel. June heating oil settled down 10.29 cents, or 3.4%, to $2.8983 a gallon. Silver and gold extended losses after a sharp drop in energy futures sent traders scrambling to the sidelines. The steep declines were mirrored in precious metals prices, as traders who were burned by last week's steep commodity price correction liquidated holdings.

The most-actively traded silver contract, for July delivery, settled down $2.971, or 7.7%, at $35.515 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. May delivery silver was down $2.971, or 7.7%, at $35.509. The most-actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, settled down $15.50, or 1%, at $1,501.40 a troy ounce. May delivery gold was off 1% at $1,501.10.

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