On Tuesday, stocks put in a solid finish, helped by U.S manufacturing data that increased at the fastest pace in six months. Improvement in construction spending also buoyed market sentiment. The S&P 500 index finished at its highest since late October, while the Dow, gaining 1.5%, closed at its highest since July 2011.
Analysts think that the S&P 500 will gain 6.6% by the year's end, compared with a flat finish for 2011, according to polls by Reuters. Investors are now looking carefully at how stocks perform the first days into the new year, as track records show that momentum in the January often translates into a bullish year overall.
Concerns about the debt crisis were resurfacing on Wednesday, in part because Spain was reported to be thinking about applying for loans from the eurozone bailout fund and the International Monetary Fund to help the restructuring of its banking industry. The news came from Spanish newspaper Expansion, which cited anonymous sources.
Overnight deposits of commercial lenders hit a record high at the European Central Bank, suggesting that Europe's banks are increasingly cautious about lending to each other. Shares of Italy's largest bank, UniCredit, were sinking 9.5% after the firm said it will sell $9.8 billion worth of new shares to boost capital.
Investors remain concerned about rising borrowing costs in the eurozone with a France holding a bond auction on Thursday, and Italy and Spain about to sell debt next week.
Germany's DAX was losing 0.74% while London's FTSE was down 0.28%. Japan's Nikkei Average settled 1.24% higher, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.8%. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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