Stocks seesawed between small gains and losses Wednesday as investors awaited further signals on the labor market that could force the Federal Reserve to act more decisively to prop up the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3 points to 10,942 in late trading, while the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index fell 0.3% to 1157 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.1% to 2373. Economically sensitive sectors including materials and industrials led to the upside, offset by declines across defensive areas including telecommunications and utilities. Trading volumes were relatively subdued, and the narrow trading range saw the Dow trade in a band of just 55.59 points between intraday high and low the narrowest daily range since April. Among companies in focus, General Electric Co. jumped 2.2%, making it the Dow's best performing component. The conglomerate said it may not increase its $1.2 billion bid for the U.K.'s Wellstream Holdings after Wellstream turned down its offer. Costco posted a 16% rise in fiscal fourth quarter earnings and said its same store sales rose 5% in September, beating analysts' expectations for a 4.5% rise. But the gain was powered by 14% growth in international operations, whereas U.S. same store sales rose only 2%, down from a 6% increase in August. The stock rose 0.6%.

European stocks gained Wednesday, with miners advancing as metal prices rose while investors shook off another downgrade for Ireland's debt and weaker than expected jobs data in the U.S. The Europe Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5% to close at 262.51. Stocks showed little reaction after Fitch Ratings downgraded Irish debt to A+ with a negative outlook, with the Irish ISEQ index rising 1.2% to 2,743.79. The International Monetary Fund Wednesday said the U.S. and European economies will slow during the latter half of the year and in the first half of 2011, and warned of downside risks. It upgraded its growth forecasts for the euro zone marginally, to 1.7% in 2010 and 2011, with much of the upgrade coming from German growth. Earlier, the German economics ministry said factory orders rose 3.4% in August, a reversal from a 1.6% fall in July. The German DAX 30 index rose 0.9% to close at 6,270.73, led by shares of Deutsche Post AG, which gained 2.8%. Shares of Deutsche Bank AG rose 1.5% after the company said it successfully sold EUR10.2 billion worth of shares. Preferred shares of Volkswagen AG gained 1.2%. The French CAC 40 index rose 0.9% to settle at 3,764.91, with Societe Generale SA posting a 2% gain and Lafarge SA rising 3.2%. In London, miners buoyed the FTSE 100 index which rose 0.8% to end at 5,681.39. Shares of Antofagasta PLC rose 3.5% and Anglo American PLC rose 4.2%.

Asian stock markets notched up solid gains Wednesday after Wall Street's rise Tuesday, with gold miners rising around the region after bullion prices surged to new highs and real estate companies gaining in Japan. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.8%, extending Tuesday's 1.5% gain; South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 1.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.1%. China's markets remained closed for the Golden Week holiday. Gold shares around the region rallied after spot gold hit a new record high in early Asian trade. Among gold miners, Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining surged 7.2% and Hong Kong listed Zhaojin Mining tacked on 3.0%. In Tokyo, 30 of the Topix's 33 subindexes ended higher with real estate shares leading the broader market after the Bank of Japan's surprise announcement Tuesday that it was lowering its policy rate and will establish a temporary fund to buy assets, including real estate investment trusts and exchange-traded funds. Nomura Real Estate Holdings jumped 9.6%, Mitsui Fudosan was up 3.5% and Mitsubishi Estate rose 4.2%.

A rallying euro and expectations of more central bank stimulus measures kept base metals on the rise Wednesday on the London Metal Exchange. Copper reached a 26 month high and tin hit a record high of $26,790/ton. The metals ended off their highs, but traders said sentiment remains bullish and few market participants are willing to trade against the upward trend. Copper ended 1% higher. Crude oil futures settled at a fresh five month high Wednesday after a government report showed a drop in U.S. fuel supplies. Wednesday's move higher added tightening supplies as an incentive to buy into a week long rally mainly driven by the weakening dollar. Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery settled 41 cents, or 0.5%, higher at $83.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising to $84.09, the highest front month price since May. Brent crude oil on the ICE futures exchange traded 22 cents higher at $85.06 a barrel. The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday said U.S. crude-oil stockpiles rose by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 1, a much larger increase than analysts had expected. But gasoline inventories fell by 2.6 million barrels and stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by 1.1 million barrels. Gold hit yet another record on its spurt higher on broad concerns that aggressive monetary easing is destabilizing currency markets. The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, finished $7.40 higher at a record settlement of $1,347.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It hit a record intraday high of $1,351.