US stocks mixed ahead of ECB meet

NEW YORK: US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday on the eve of a crucial
European Central Bank policy meeting amid hopes for action to stem
eurozone financial turmoil.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 13,047.48, adding 11.54 points (0.09 percent).


The S&P 500-stock index slipped 1.50 points (0.11 percent) to
1,403.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 5.79 points (0.19 percent) to
3,069.27.


"The US equity markets were nearly unchanged after a wait-and-see
session on Wall Street today, as investors anxiously await tomorrow's
European Central Bank meeting," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said.



"Economists are expecting the ECB to cut rates, but
will also be focused on whether a plan will develop to re-enter the
sovereign debt markets with unlimited but sterilised bond purchases,"
they said.


A profit warning from package-delivery giant FedEx, citing weak
global demand, hit sentiment. Shares in the global bellwether dropped
almost two percent.


On the Dow, American Express led decliners, down 2.4 percent, while Disney scored the biggest gain, 2.3 percent.


New smartphones were unveiled at two separate New York events.


Nokia plunged 15.9 percent to US$2.38 after the struggling Finnish
company introduced two new smartphones using the Windows Phone 8
operating system. Microsoft was unchanged.


"It feels like amateur's day out," said Paul Ausick at
24/7WallSt.com, lamenting the failure of the two tech giants to
announce a launch date or a price.


Google's Motorola Mobility meanwhile unveiled three new Android-powered smartphones. The Internet giant edged down 0.1 percent.


Facebook shares got a 4.8 percent boost after co-founder Mark
Zuckerberg pledged to not sell any of his 500 million shares for
another year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.


After sinking to a new intraday low on Tuesday of US$17.55 - less
than half the May IPO price of US$38 - Facebook rebounded to US$18.58.


Capital One dropped 0.6 percent. Dutch banking giant ING announced
Wednesday it was to sell its stake in the US bank for US$3 billion. --
AFP