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Stocks erase an early loss and manage modest gains

Asian shares fell on Wednesday as oil prices skidded after Saudi Arabia effectively ruled out production cuts by major producers anytime soon, sending investors into safe-havens such as the yen.

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WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.1 percent to 16,431.78 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 1.3 percent to 1,921.27.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 2.3 percent at its lowest level in around a week, extending losses from a 1.3 percent slide in the previous session.

The volatility in oil prices has dominated market sentiment recently.

Mr Andres expects stocks to fall further amid a global slowdown, low commodities prices and after years of quantitative easing in the U.S., which he said artificially boosted stock prices.

Following a steep overnight decline, oil prices surged 28 cents, or 0.88%, to settle at $32.15 a barrel.

For latest news on mobile and tablet, download IndiaTV Android app and iOS app. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to a 1.742 percent after hitting a low of 1.649 percent. The S&P 500 gave up 1.2% to 1922, with the biggest loser the NASDAQ – with a 1.4% slump to 4506.

Discoveries of vast crude deposits in recent years in the US from shale oil have sharply ramped up domestic crude production.

Shares in Dow Jones member JP Morgan fell 4.3% after the bank said it would set aside an extra $500m to cover losses from loans to oil and gas companies. In a speech earlier Tuesday, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi dismissed the possibility of production cuts, instead arguing that by maintaining output, the market will rebalance over time as demand improves. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 23.35 points, or 0.51 percent, to 4,547.26.

NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks have recovered much of an early loss, thanks in part to a pickup in the price of crude oil. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, fell 7 cents to $34.62 per barrel in London.

During the session, Target Corp (TGT.N) climbed 3.99 percent after its quarterly sales showed the store’s turnaround efforts were gaining traction.

The Dow is up 39.79 points, or 0.2 percent.

“While mortgage rates remain historically low with the average 30-year rate just below 4.0%, tight credit, limited supply and rising prices are likely to continue to hold home sales growth back, keeping momentum positive but at a gradual pace”, said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial. On Monday, the contract jumped $1.56. That was lower than a separate measure from the American Petroleum Institute, which showed a rise of 7.1 million barrels in the same period.

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The US dollar rose 0.60% against the pound but fell 0.08% against the euro and dropped 0.77% versus the yen.

US stock futures erase losses as oil turns green