US markets

U.S. stocks fell Wednesday, pressured by disappointing economic data, weaker commodity prices and lackluster earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 83.93 points, or 0.66%, to 12723.58. The Nasdaq Composite shed 13.39, or 0.47%, to 2828.23. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 9.30, or 0.69%, to 1347.32, following drops on the first two days of the month as well. The S&P 500 index's negative start to the month follows a strong April, and marks the first time the index has declined over the first three trading sessions of a month since October 2008.

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Economic data weighed on shares. The Institute for Supply Management's index of nonmanufacturing activity for April came in below expectations. Automatic Data Processing reported that private sector jobs in the U.S. rose 179,000 in April, missing economists' forecast. The data come ahead of Friday's monthly employment report. Several companies reported disappointing earnings.

Las Vegas Sands slumped 7.3% after missing analysts' earnings and revenue forecasts. Kellogg fell 1.7% after the food manufacturer's first-quarter earnings fell more than expected as higher costs offset sales growth. Deal activity bolstered a few pockets of the market. Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates soared 51% after the company agreed to be bought by Applied Materials for $4.9 billion in cash. Applied Materials slipped 1%. ConAgra Foods proposed the purchase of Ralcorp for $4.9 billion, lifting the cereal company's stock 4.9%, while ConAgra added 3.1%.

European markets

European stock markets dropped sharply as weak U.S. economic data, falling commodity prices and disappointing earnings darkened investor sentiment. The Stoxx Europe 600 index slumped 1.4% to end at 278.52. Alternative energy, mining and oil were among the sectors posting particularly heavy losses. Among the biggest decliners, shares of Vestas Wind Systems AS sank 8% after the Danish wind-turbine manufacturer said its first-quarter loss widened to EUR72 million from EUR26 million in the year-earlier period. Other alternative-energy shares also dropped, with Renewable Energy Corp ASA down 6.8% and EDP Renovaveis SA 5.4% lower.

In France, the CAC 40 index fell 1.3% to 4,043.13, led down by a 4.6% slump in shares of Alcatel-Lucent SA. The telecom equipment firm is scheduled to report first-quarter financial results Friday. The biggest gainer in the CAC was BNP Paribas SA, whose shares rose 1.1% after the bank reported a 15% increase in first-quarter profit. The German DAX 30 index lost 1.7% to end at 7,373.93, with Siemens AG falling nearly 3%. The industrial conglomerate reported a jump in second-quarter profit, but analysts at Societe Generale said the company's organic growth and sales on the industry side were disappointing. Car maker BMW AG fell 1.6%, giving up earlier gains. The firm said profit more than tripled in the first quarter as sales surged 29%. Shares of fellow German auto group Volkswagen AG lost 2.6%. London's FTSE 100 index dropped 1.6% to 5,984.07, as shares of chip designer ARM Holdings PLC tumbled 7.3%. Miners also posted steep losses, tracking lower metals prices, with Fresnillo PLC down 5.2% and Rio Tinto PLC down 3.3%.

Asian markets

Asian stocks ended mostly lower Wednesday as worries Beijing may act soon to check inflation and a steep fall in several commodities made investors less willing to take on risk. China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 2.3% to 2866.02. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 1.4% to 23,315.24, South Korea's Kospi shed 0.9% to 2180.64 and India's Sensex fell 0.4% to 18,469.36.

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Japanese markets, shut for public holidays, will reopen Friday. Steve Cheng, associate director at brokerage Shenyin Wanguo, said that in addition to fears Beijing may lift interest rates again, concern about the approaching end to the U.S. Federal Reserve's $600 billion asset-purchase program in June was also weighing on commodities. Resource-sector stocks were among those hit after prices of several commodities declined overnight and stretched those losses well into the Asian day.

Jiangxi Copper slumped 6% and PetroChina gave up 2.2% in Shanghai; they fell 1.9% and 1.5%, respectively, in Hong Kong. South Korean shares were pressured as foreign investors turned net sellers after a 10-session buying spree. Samsung Electronics dropped 2.5% and Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 4.1%.

Base metals

Copper slumped to its lowest close in seven weeks on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, laid low by demand concerns on bearish economic data from the U.S. While range trading is expected to continue in coming days a slip below the psychologically important $9,000 a metric ton could signal a much deeper pull-back for the red metal. At the PM kerb close, LME three-month copper was 2.4% lower at $9,123/ton, while nickel which is expected to suffer from oversupply later in the year lost 5.5% to close at $25,810/ton.

Tin, which has a small, relatively illiquid market, also saw exaggerated losses, closing at $30,950/ton, down 4.2% on the previous day. Oil futures settled at their lowest level in two weeks Wednesday after a report showed U.S. oil supplies rose more than expected last week, confirming doubts that demand was keeping up with supply. A disappointing reading on U.S. nonmanufacturing activity also raised concerns about weak U.S. fuel demand, weighing on prices.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled down $1.81, or 1.6%, at $109.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled down $1.26, or 1%, to $121.19 a barrel. Oil inventories rose 3.4 million barrels last week, the Department of Energy said in its closely watched report on U.S. oil and fuel product inventories. Oil supplies have been climbing steadily in recent months as refineries switch gears to ramp up gasoline production for the summer driving season. But the increase was greater than the 2 million-barrel build expected from analysts, signaling less demand from refiners.

Silver for May delivery settled down $3.193, or 7.5%, at $39.383 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract is down 18.9% from Friday's settlement of $48.584, a 31-year high. The most actively traded silver contract, for July delivery, settled at a four-week low, down $3.197, or 7.5%, at $39.388 a troy ounce. The contract is 19% off Friday's settlement of $48.599, a record for the most-active contract. Gold for May delivery settled down $25.20, or 1.6%, at $1,514.90 a troy ounce. The most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, ended $25.10 lower, or 1.6%, at $1,515.30 a troy ounce.

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