US Markets

U.S. stocks eked out a slight gain as investors weighed earnings from some high-profile retailers against signs of rising input costs and continued dissatisfaction over efforts to find a solution to Europe's debt woes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 4.28 points, or 0.04%, to 11410.21, after gaining 124 points early in the session. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 1.13 points, or 0.09%, to 1193.89, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 11.97 points, or 0.47%, to 2511.48. Pulling on the upside were stocks in the most defensive sectors: telecommunications, utilities and consumer staples. Verizon Communications gained 2.1%, AT&T added 1.3%, and Coca-Cola rose 1.6%.

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Leading the decliners were technology stocks. Hewlett-Packard fell 3.7% to lead the Dow laggards, after rival Dell tumbled 10%. Investors dumped shares in computer maker Dell after it reported slowing sales and lowered its full-year revenue target. Other tech giants fell, with Cisco Systems down 0.9%, Intel off 0.6%, and Microsoft shedding 0.4%.

Retail stocks were in focus Wednesday, after a batch of high-profile names reported earnings. Target rose 2.4% after its quarterly earnings report topped estimates, driven by same-store sales growth. Staples edged up 0.5% after it reported second-quarter profit that topped forecasts. Abercrombie & Fitch fell 8.7% as rising costs from increased raw-material costs cut into profit margins, though fiscal-second-quarter earnings rose 64% amid rising sales at the teen-apparel retailer.

European Markets

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% Wednesday to end at 238.05, buoyed by a rally for Vestas Wind Systems, while the U.K. and German markets dropped, led lower by financial shares. Vestas Wind Systems rallied nearly 24% in Copenhagen after the wind turbine maker reported better than expected quarterly results.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index rose 0.7% to 3,254.34, helped by a 2.5% gain for Veolia Environnement SA and a 2.8% rise for Sanofi SA as utilities and drug companies generally performed well across the continent.

Meanwhile, financial stocks posted losses after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy late Tuesday proposed governance changes for the euro zone, but dismissed the idea of countries jointly issuing euro-zone bonds an idea that has gained traction in recent weeks as a way to tackle the crisis.

Shares in exchange operators were among the worst performers after Merkel and Sarkozy also said they will propose a new tax on financial transactions. Shares in London Stock Exchange Group PLC dropped 2.8%,

Deutsche Boerse AG fell 5.8% and the Paris-listed shares of NYSE Euronext dropped 4.7%. Interdealer broker Icap PLC, which acts as a broker to financial institutions, was also hit by worries over a tax, dropping 3.7% in London and weighing on the FTSE 100 index, which slipped 0.5% to end at 5,331.60.

Bank stocks were mostly weaker in Europe. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC fell 3.8% in London and Deutsche Bank AG dropped 2.2% in Frankfurt, helping pull the DAX 30 index down 0.8% to 5,948.94. In Paris, BNP Paribas SA fell 2.2%. Italy's FTSE MIB index rose 1.3% to 15,950.75, helped by a 3% rise for Telecom Italia SpA.

Asian Markets

Japanese and Taiwanese shares ended lower Wednesday on lingering concerns over European economic troubles. Mainland Chinese stocks declined on worries about monetary tightening, while Hong Kong shares overcame choppy afternoon trading to edge higher after Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang announced proposals affirming Hong Kong's status as a key offshore financial hub, during a visit to the city.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended the day 0.6% lower at 9057.26, Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.7% at 7741.76 and China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 2601.26. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.7% to 1892.67 and India's Sensex also advanced 0.7%, to 16840.80.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 20289.03, though that was well off the day's high, the market losing ground after European markets opened on a weak note. Volatility remained high in the region, with investor sentiment subdued after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday, meeting over the euro zone's sovereign-debt woes, rejected issuing euro-zone bonds and proposed a new financial-transaction tax.

Disappointing quarterly euro-zone and German growth reports heightened concerns about the global economy, and U.S. stocks snapped a three-day winning streak Tuesday. Financial stocks climbed in Hong Kong, continuing to recover recent losses, with heavyweight HSBC Holdings adding 1.5% and BOC Hong Kong Holdings jumping 4.4%. A set of strong earnings reports also supported stocks in Hong Kong.

China Coal Energy soared 6.9% after its first-half profit beat expectations and earned the stock an upgrade to Buy from Citigroup. Ranking among the losers, real-estate firms Mitsui Fudosan and Mitsubishi Estate shed 1.9% and 0.7%, respectively, in Tokyo. Exporters also lost ground, with Honda Motor falling 2.5% and Suzuki Motor declining 1.4%.

Commodities

Base metals finished Wednesday firmly higher on the London Metal Exchange, as a weaker dollar and technical buying above key resistance levels conspired to push the metals into slightly higher ranges. At the close of open outcry trading, LME three-month copper was up 1.5% on the day at $8,960 a metric ton, while zinc also gained 1.5% to trade at $2,215/ton. The only exception to complex-wide gains Wednesday was tin, which slipped 0.6% at the close, to $24,005/ton. Crude oil futures prices settled higher Wednesday after an industry report showed a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. gasoline inventories.

The EIA reported a rise of 4.2 million barrels against expectations for a modest decline in the week ended Aug. 12. Crude was propped up too by strong buying interest ahead of the expiration of the September crude oil options contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Light, sweet crude oil for September delivery settled up 93 cents at $87.58 a barrel. ICE Brent crude for October delivery settled $1.47 higher at $110.60 a barrel. Gold settled at record highs as reports that Venezuela plans to nationalize its gold industry gave futures a late-afternoon boost.

The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, gained $8.80, or 0.5%, to settle at a record $1,793.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract is still well below its intraday record of $1,817.60 set Aug. 11. Thinly traded August-delivery gold rallied $8.80, or 0.5%, to settle at a record $1,791.20 a troy ounce.

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