US markets close lower dragged by industrials

Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.65% or 83.17 points at 12653.12. Nasdaq Composite was down 1% or 29.44 points at 2902.33. Standard & Poor's 500 was down 0.81% or 10.99 points at 1341.47.

On economic data front, small business optimism dropped sharply in June for the second-straight month, according to NFIB, with businesses downbeat on sales, profits and hiring.

In data to watch out for in US today, the US international trade gap in May is seen improving to 48.7 billion in May from over 50 billion in April. The may wholesale inventories is seen lower at 0.3% after they rose to 0.6% in April.

In the currency space, the euro slumped to a two-year trough against the dollar as euro zone ministers failed to dispel fears about the debt crisis. The dollar index is strong above 83.

In the commodity arena, Brent crude prices slipped below USD 98 after Norway's government ordered an end to an oil workers' strike and data showed China imported less crude oil in June than the previous month.

In the precious metal space, gold futures continued to trade around the 1570 levels.