With unemployment rising, expectations that corporations could squeeze a profit out of a struggling consumer base are sinking.
By close Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 14.81 points or 0.18 percent to 8,178.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 1.47 or 0.17 percent to 879.56. The Nasdaq composite index added 1 point, 0.06 percent, to 1,747.17.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,025 stocks advanced and 1,972 declined on a volume of 4.8 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 1 10/32 to yield 3.29 percent.
The euro fell to $1.3877, compared to Tuesday's $1.3913. Against the Japanese
yen, the dollar fell to 92.735 yen, compared to Tuesday's 94.81 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 227.04 points to 9,420.75, down 2.35 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 1.12 percent, 46.77 points, to 4,140.23.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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