Investing.com - U.S. stock markets were broadly lower after the open on Wednesday, as growing uncertainty over the outcome of this week’s crucial European Union summit prompted investors to dump riskier assets.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.65%, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.85%, while the Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 1.15%.
Market sentiment weakened after the Wall Street Journal reported that an unnamed senior German official expressed pessimism on the prospect of success at the two-day EU summit, scheduled to begin later Thursday.
Shares in the financial sector were mostly lower, tracking losses in their European counterparts. Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs slumped 1.2%, while U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank tumbled 3.5%.
Elsewhere in the sector, Citigroup shares fell 2.8% after the bank announced plans to cut another 4,500 jobs over the next several quarters to generate cost savings.
Shares in stock market operator NYSE Euronext dropped 4.65% after a report said the firm and its potential acquirer, Deutsche Boerse, may be required to spin off some of their derivatives businesses in order to appease European Union regulators opposed to the deal.
On the upside, shares in solar company First Solar rallied 11.8% after MidAmerican Energy Holdings said it acquired First Solar's 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm power plant in California for an undisclosed fee.
Meanwhile, shares in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia soared 28.5% after JC Penny acquired a 16.6% stake in the company in a deal valued at nearly USD38.5 million. JC Penny shares dipped 0.3% following the news.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 1.35%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.85%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.45%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.9%.
European leaders are to discuss proposed changes to EU treaties which would allow for greater fiscal integration in the single currency bloc, as well as an enlargement of the bloc's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility and the permanent structure that will replace it, the European Stability Mechanism.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.7%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.65%, the S&P 500 index dropped 0.85%, while the Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 1.15%.
Market sentiment weakened after the Wall Street Journal reported that an unnamed senior German official expressed pessimism on the prospect of success at the two-day EU summit, scheduled to begin later Thursday.
Shares in the financial sector were mostly lower, tracking losses in their European counterparts. Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs slumped 1.2%, while U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank tumbled 3.5%.
Elsewhere in the sector, Citigroup shares fell 2.8% after the bank announced plans to cut another 4,500 jobs over the next several quarters to generate cost savings.
Shares in stock market operator NYSE Euronext dropped 4.65% after a report said the firm and its potential acquirer, Deutsche Boerse, may be required to spin off some of their derivatives businesses in order to appease European Union regulators opposed to the deal.
On the upside, shares in solar company First Solar rallied 11.8% after MidAmerican Energy Holdings said it acquired First Solar's 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm power plant in California for an undisclosed fee.
Meanwhile, shares in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia soared 28.5% after JC Penny acquired a 16.6% stake in the company in a deal valued at nearly USD38.5 million. JC Penny shares dipped 0.3% following the news.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 1.35%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.85%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.45%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.9%.
European leaders are to discuss proposed changes to EU treaties which would allow for greater fiscal integration in the single currency bloc, as well as an enlargement of the bloc's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility and the permanent structure that will replace it, the European Stability Mechanism.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.7%.