Major U.S. stock-indexes lower on Wednesday as crude oil slid back towards the 11-year low it hit last week. Crude oil gave up its gains from Tuesday after forecasts of a short winter in North America and Europe piled pressure on the oversupplied commodity. Trading volumes are expected to remain thin on the last trading days of the year.

Most of all of Dow stocks in negative area (19 of 30). Top looser - Chevron Corporation (CVX, -1,21%). Top gainer - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, +0.43%).

All S&P sectors also in red area. Top looser - Conglomerates (-1.3%).

At the moment:

Oil 36.71 -1.16 -3.06%

Gold 1060.10 -7.90 -0.74%

Dow 17584.00 -54.00 -0.31%

S&P 500 2064.00 -8.75 -0.42%

Nasdaq 100 4665.50 -25.00 -0.53%

U.S. 10yr 2.31 +0.01

Polish equity market closed lower on Wednesday. The broad market measure, the WIG Index, lost 1.22%. Except for food sector (+1.66%) and developers (+0.22%), every sector in the WIG Index declined, with utilities (-2.48%) lagging behind.

The large-cap stocks' benchmark, the WIG30 Index, fell by 1.8%. There were only four gainers among the index components. Footwear retailer CCC (WSE: CCC) posted the strongest advance, up 3.4%. Other outperformers were railway freight transport operator PKP CARGO (WSE: PKP), coking coal producer JSW (WSE: JSW) and bank ALIOR (WSE: ALR), gaining 2.15%, 1.43% and 0.3% respectively. On the other side of the ledger, FMCG wholesaler EUROCASH (WSE: EUR) topped the list of underperformers, tumbling by 5.83%. It was followed by chemical producer SYNTHOS (WSE: SNS) and clothing retailer LPP (WSE: LPP), slumping by 5.22% and 5.20% respectively.

For the year, the market lost 9.62%, suffering from weak performance of materials (-43.79%), utilities (-31.39%) and banking (-23.54%) sectors.

The market will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

U.S. stock-index futures slipped.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 19,033.71 +51.48 +0.27%

Hang Seng 21,882.15 -117.47 -0.53%

Shanghai Composite 3,572.69 +8.96 +0.25%

FTSE 6,275.88 -38.69 -0.61%

CAC 4,685.27 -16.09 -0.34%

DAX 10,743.01 -117.13 -1.08%

Crude oil $36.83 (-2.75%)

Gold $1060.90 (-0.66%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

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Intel (INTC) target raised to $38 from $37 at Needham

FedEx (FDX) target set at $182 at Goldman Sachs

U.S. stock indices advanced on Tuesday amid gains in oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 192.71 points, or 1.1%, to 17,720.98. The S&P 500 rose 21.86 points, or 1.1%, to 2,078.36 (all of its 10 sectors climbed). The Nasdaq Composite gained 66.95 points, or 1.3%, to 5,107.94.

A report from S&P/Case-Shiller showed that U.S. home prices rose at a faster pace in October; however recent data suggest that home sales lost momentum. The home price index rose by 5.2% in the twelve months through October compared to a 4.9% increase in September.

Meanwhile the Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index improved to 96.5 (1985=100) in December from 92.6 in November. The current assessment index rose to 115.3 from 110.9; the expectations index advanced to 83.9 from 80.4.

This morning in Asia Hong Kong Hang Seng declined 0.54%, or 118.77, to 21,880.85. China Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.70%, or 24.93, to 3,538.81. The Nikkei gained 0.31%, or 58.39, to 19,040.62.

Asian stock indices traded mixed. Japanese stocks rose on higher crude oil prices and a weaker yen, which is favorable for exporters. Nevertheless trading was sluggish ahead of a holiday.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 225 18,982.23 +108.88 +0.58 %

Hang Seng 21,999.62 +80.00 +0.36 %

Shanghai Composite 3,563.91 +30.13 +0.85 %

FTSE 100 6,314.57 +59.93 +0.96 %

CAC 40 4,701.36 +83.41 +1.81 %

Xetra DAX 10,860.14 +206.23 +1.94 %

S&P 500 2,078.36 +21.86 +1.06 %

NASDAQ Composite 5,107.94 +66.95 +1.33 %

Dow Jones 17,720.98 +192.71 +1.10 %