US Market
Blue-chip stocks reversed a steep morning drop to snap an eight-day losing streak. In a volatile session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average squeezed out a gain of 29.82 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 11896.44. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 6.29 points, or 0.50%, to 1260.34, while the Nasdaq Composite added 23.83 points, or 0.89%, to 2693.07, after falling briefly into negative territory for 2011.

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Technology stocks powered the afternoon rebound, leading the S&P 500's 10 sectors. Intel rose 1.4%. Energy stocks weighed on the downside as crude-oil prices tumbled to $91.93 a barrel. The early declines came after the U.S. services sector softened and factory orders fell, adding to economic worries. Private-sector hiring in July came in a touch better than expected.

After an hour of trading, the Dow had tumbled 166 points, but by the midafternoon stocks had reversed those declines. Some traders pointed to a Wall Street Journal article quoting three former top Federal Reserve officials signaling support for further monetary easing if inflation slows. The volatile session ended an eight-day slide for the Dow industrials, which had been rocked by the weakening economy and the debt-ceiling fight in Congress.

In stock movers, Hertz Global Holdings and CBS both reported earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street expectations late Tuesday. Hertz gained 2.3%, while CBS edged up 1.6%. Time Warner declined 1.3% after its earnings topped forecasts and it increased its stock-buyback program.

European Market

European stock markets ended sharply lower Wednesday, with the banking sector under pressure after Societe Generale warned that its 2012 earnings target will be hard to achieve after taking writedowns on its Greek bond holdings. The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 2% to end at 251.95, its lowest close since August.

Major indexes took hits, with the German DAX 30 falling 2.3% to finish at 6,640.59 and London's FTSE 100 index also down 2.3%, at 5,584.51. The French CAC 40 index ended 1.9% lower at 3,454.94, with shares of Societe Generale down 9%. The French bank reported a 31% drop in second-quarter net profit, driven by write-downs on its Greek bond holdings, and warned that its 2012 profit target of EUR6 billion. Most other banks saw shares fall, including declines of 6.6% retreat for Credit Agricole in Paris and 3.7% for Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.

Swiss banks initially bucked the lower trend, but later succumbed to selling pressure. UBS AG fell 1.6% and Credit Suisse Group dropped 1.1%, giving up gains scored after the Swiss National Bank cut its key lending rate to zero and took other steps to halt recent sharp gains for the Swiss franc. UBS and Credit Suisse book much of their revenue in dollars but many of their expenses in francs, which severely weakened their latest results and contributed to widespread job cuts at both firms. The Swiss SMI index fell 1.2%.

Meanwhile, peripheral markets declined, with the Greek ASE Composite slumping 3.8%, Italy's FTSE MIB index falling 1.5% and Spain's IBEX 35 declining 0.8%. Shares of Italy's UniCredit SpA rose 1.8% after reporting a stronger profit for the second quarter and as investors awaited Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's address on plans to restore confidence in the Italian economy.

Asian Market

Most Asian shares were beaten down Wednesday as mounting concerns about slowing global growth and shaky sovereign debt led investors to dump equities in favor of investments perceived to be safer, such as gold. Extending losses suffered Tuesday on signs that global manufacturing was slowing, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended the day 2.1% lower at 9,637.14, South Korea's Kospi fell 2.6% to 2,066.26 and Taiwan's Taiex gave up 1.5% to 8,456.86. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.9% to 21,992.72, while China's Shanghai Composite index ended little changed at 2,678.48. Shares of commodity and shipping-related companies, as well as other firms dependent on overseas demand, suffered big losses on fears the global economic outlook was deteriorating.

Port operator Cosco Pacific Ltd. plunged 7.5%, and merchandise trading firm Li & Fung Ltd. sank 4.8%. Shares of shipping major China Cosco Holdings Co. tumbled 5.2% in Hong Kong, after UOB KayHian cut its price target. Shipbuilders Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. sank 6.4% and 4.4%, respectively, in Seoul. Many of the region's steel makers were also hard-hit, with JFE Holdings Inc. dropping 3.3% in Tokyo and Hyundai Steel Co. giving up 3.9% in Seoul.

Commodities

Copper closed at its lowest price in almost a month on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday as base metal investors remained cautious amid bearish macro signals. At the close of open outcry trading, LME three-month copper was down 1.5% at $9,530 a metric ton, its lowest closing price since July 6. Nickel which hit a near-three-month high as recently as Monday lost the most ground, closing 4.0% lower at $23,805/ton as profit-taking sparked escalated selling.

Oil futures finished at their lowest level in five weeks Wednesday, on concerns that oil demand in the U.S., the world's biggest consumer of crude, is weakening. Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled down $1.86, or 2%, to $91.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the weakest finish for the front-month contract since June 27. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange settled down $3.23, or 2.8%, to $113.23 a barrel.

Futures pushed lower after the Department of Energy said U.S. commercial oil inventories rose 1 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories soared. The figures point to weakening U.S. demand for oil and fuel, and come against a backdrop of data suggesting the economic recovery is stalling. Gold futures continued their march into record territory for a second day, with some traders and analysts expecting prices to soon breach $1,700 an ounce as worries mount about the health of the global economy.

The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, climbed $21.80, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,666.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rose as high as $1,675.90 an ounce, a record intraday high for a most-active contract.

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