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World market indices mixed

18 June 2009 08:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Wall Streetâ€™s major indices edged either side of the line on Wednesday. Financials dragged the broader market lower, while the tech sector advanced for the first time since last Friday.

In economic news, the Obama Administration announced its proposal for financial regulatory reform. It included a plan to put an end to the Office of Thrift Supervision and create a financial consumer-protection agency.

The Dow Jones slid 7.49 points, or 0.09%, to 8,497.18, the S&Pâ€™s 500 sank 1.26 points, or 0.14%, to 910.71 and the NASDAQ picked up 11.88 points, or 0.66%, to 1,808.06.

Financials were lower as five banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, repaid billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout funds. They fell 3.1%, 2.3% and 2.2% respectively.

Wells Fargo and Bank of America sank 5.4% and 4.4%.

Citigroup shed 5.2%, while American International Group and American Express dropped 5.4% and 3%.

Tech stocks led the NASDAQ higher. Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Oracle advanced 1%, 1.6% and 1.3%.

Yahoo! and Google slid 2.3% and 0.2%, while IBM lost 0.3%.

European stocks slid for the fourth consecutive day on concerns the overall market rally has overrun earnings growth. Financials and Resources led the market lower, though advances in defensive stocks cushioned the fall.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 closed 50.11, or 1.16% higher at 4,278.46. Franceâ€™s CAC40 lost 52.81, or 1.64% to 3,161.14, while the German DAX fell 90.74, or 1.86%, to 4,799.98.