* U.S. stocks end lower
* Facebook falls as it faces U.S. lawsuits
* European stocks end up 0.3%
(Updates with closing U.S. market levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Global equity indexes fell on
Wednesday as negotiations over further U.S. fiscal stimulus
dragged on and the dollar rose for a fourth straight session.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended lower, with the
Nasdaq down 1.9% and leading the day's losses. Shares of Facebook FB.O , among the biggest drags on the
S&P 500 and Nasdaq, fell 1.9% after the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission and nearly every U.S. state sued the social media
company on Wednesday, saying it broke antitrust law and should
potentially be broken up. Investors were awaiting news on further U.S. economic relief
as the coronavirus pandemic continued to take its toll on the
economy.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers
were still looking for a path toward an agreement on COVID-19
aid, as the House of Representatives prepared to vote on a
one-week funding bill to provide more time for a deal.
"We had a pretty nice boost in the morning on speculation
that we might get a new package, but it's kind of an on-again
and off-again thing," said Randy Frederick, vice president of
trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 105.07 points,
or 0.35%, to 30,068.81, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 29.43 points, or
0.79%, to 3,672.82 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
243.82 points, or 1.94%, to 12,338.95.
The S&P 500 had hit a record high early in the session.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX ended up 0.3%.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.46%, also hitting a record high earlier.
Positive news on COVID-19 vaccine development has been
boosting stocks. Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N this week said it
could obtain late-stage trial results for a single-dose vaccine
in January, earlier than expected. Britain this week became the first Western nation to begin a
wide vaccination campaign. However, Britain injected a note of
caution, saying people with a history of significant allergic
reactions responded adversely to the Pfizer PFE.N vaccine.
The dollar rose as stocks came under pressure. In afternoon
trading, the dollar gained 0.1% against a basket of currencies
=USD to 91.027. It reached an April 2018 low of 90.47 last
Friday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson began a crisis meeting
over dinner in Brussels with the EU's chief executive on
Wednesday, hours after warning the bloc it must make concessions
to clinch a Brexit trade deal and avoid a turbulent year-end
breakup. Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3409, up 0.10% on the
day.
U.S. Treasury yields rose. Benchmark 10-year notes
US10YT=RR last fell 8/32 in price to yield 0.94%, from 0.91%
late on Tuesday. Oil futures were little changed, although data showed an
unexpected jump in U.S. crude stockpiles. Brent crude LCOc1
rose 2 cents to settle at $48.86 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1
fell 8 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $45.52. Spot gold prices XAU= were also near flat.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
Rebound of major world markets https://tmsnrt.rs/370lXbY
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