U.S. Stocks

U.S. stocks pared an afternoon advance late in a session whose choppy trading was dominated by European sovereign-debt worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 23 points, or 0.2%, at 11524, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 3 points, or 0.3%, to 1213.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 10 points, or 0.4%, to 2594. Stocks whipped from positive to negative territory throughout the session, moving higher midday after French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint statement pledging that European Union leaders would have a bailout plan in place by Wednesday.

Those leaders also called for immediate talks with the private sector over Greek debt. Earlier, stocks had fallen after reports that a Sunday European summit could be postponed because of disagreements on how to deploy cash in the Continent's bailout fund.

Stocks also got a brief morning lift from an unexpected bounce in the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's index of general business activity, which showed signs of a rebound in mid-Atlantic manufacturing. Economists had expected the gauge to show another negative reading, but it rose to 8.7 this month, from minus-17.5 in September.

European Markets

European stocks fell Thursday as uncertainty about the outcome of the weekend's meeting of euro-zone ministers buffeted indexes throughout the session and as concern about the global economy weighed.

Stocks initially fell on concerns about how much progress would be made at the weekend meeting, but came off lows on comments that the region's key bailout fund could purchase sovereign debt directly from countries issuing new bonds or on the open market and as rumors the meeting was to be postponed were dismissed.

But investor sentiment couldn't maintain the brief retrenchment, and indexes closed close to their intraday lows after the euro-zone consumer confidence reading dropped to a 26-month low late in the session and as the International Monetary Fund warned of a darkening global outlook.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 1.5% to 233.07, having earlier hit an intraday low of 232.84. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.2% to 5384.68, Germany's DAX declined 2.5% at 5766.48, and France's CAC-40 was 2.3% lower at 3084.07. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters Thursday that the global economy is darkening; it's becoming a bit more negative.

Still, he also stressed that the IMF and key European officials aren't at odds over the economic situation in Greece. Meanwhile, European earnings were mixed Thursday.

Actelion dropped 9.7%, after the group posted lower than expected third-quarter results. Nestle shares slid 0.5%, even after the group raised its full-year outlook after reporting a 7.3% rise in local currency sales during the first nine months of 2011. The technology sector managed to reverse Wednesday's losses, aided by Nokia and Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, both of which posted a rise in third-quarter net sales. Nokia climbed 5.5%, and Ericsson advanced 4%. The Stoxx Europe 600 technology index added 1.1%.

Asian Stocks

Asian stock markets ended lower Thursday, with resources plays dropping, on increased concerns over Europe's ability to come up with a credible fix for its debt crisis and after the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a gloomy economic outlook.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average lost 1% to 8682.15, South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.7% to 1805.09, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.8% to 17983.10, the Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.9% to 2331.37 and India's Sensex fell 0.9% to 16936.89.

Thailand's SET index dropped 3.1% to 909.10 as the prime minister said it was impossible to protect all of Bangkok from the country's worst floods in decades, describing the situation as a national crisis.

Growth-sensitive resources plays lost ground around the region after the Fed issued a gloomy Beige Book assessment, rekindling worries a potential slump in demand in the event of a severe downturn for the global economy. Jiangxi Copper's Hong Kong and Shanghai shares fell 3.7% and 4.4% respectively.

Seoul-listed Posco fell 3.5% and Sumitomo Metal Mining shed 3.4% in Tokyo. In Tokyo, hard disk drive related shares fell sharply after Western Digital, the world's largest drive maker, delivered a grim fourth quarter sales outlook and dropped 5.2% in after-hours New York trading. HDD component maker TDK fell 3.8%, while magnetic disk maker Showa Denko lost 5.4%. Companies affected by flooding in Thailand lost ground, with Nikon off 3.5% and TDK down 3.8%.

Commodities

Base metals closed sharply lower on the London Metal Exchange Thursday as uncertainty over the state of affairs in the euro zone and the slowing demand outlook from top metals consumer China continued to weigh on sentiment.

Flagship copper slumped 6.9% to a 15-day low at $6,710 a metric ton Thursday, and closed the session at $6,730/ton, down 6.6% on the day. Similar heavy losses were seen in zinc, which closed 5.3% lower at $1,740/ton, having slumped to its lowest price since July 2010.

Amid reports that the weekend's much anticipated European Union summit may be delayed, the fallout from a government crackdown on metal for collateral in China was also taking its toll on metal prices.

Crude oil futures prices ended an erratic day lower on Thursday because of worries over weak U.S. oil demand and the prospects for progress in resolving the euro zone's debt crisis.

Oil prices swung broadly with equities and the dollar-euro exchange rate as conflicting headlines out of Europe suggested advances or roadblocks on the path toward a plan.

At one point, a summit planned for this weekend appeared in doubt. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel later said they are aiming for a comprehensive resolution to be approved by European leaders by Wednesday at the latest. November light, sweet crude oil expired down 81 cents at $85.30 a barrel, while the incoming front-month, December, settled 22 cents lower, at $86.07 a barrel.

November's 77-cent discount to December was the widest spread since the April contract expired March 22, and reflects weak near-term demand for crude as refiners have taken down several facilities for seasonal maintenance programs. ICE December Brent crude settled up 1.3%, or $1.37, to $109.76 a barrel.

Gold futures extended their slump for a fourth day, ending at a three week low as pessimism about a potential quick fix to the euro zone's debt crisis had investors favoring holding cash instead of precious metals. The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, fell $34.10, or 2.1%, to $1,612.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement price since Sept. 26.