US markets close lower; Euro, brent crude, gold slip

In the US markets, stocks finished in negative territory after the latest Fed meeting minutes revealed disagreement on how long the central bank should buy bonds and as investors took a pause following the previous session's sharp 'cliff' deal rally.

Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.16% or 21.19 points at 13391.36. Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.38% or 11.69 points at 3100.57. Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.21% or 3.05 points at 1459.37.

On economic data front, jobless claims increased 10,000 to 3,72,000 in the week ended December 29. Economists had expected 360,000 claims. And according to ADP the private sector created 215,000 new jobs in December. The rise in employment is being attributed to increase hiring in the construction sector, which alone added 39,000 jobs.

In key data to watch out for in the US today, non-farm payrolls are expected to come in at 155,000, unemployment rate is expected to rise to 7.8% and factory orders are expected to come in at 0.3%. Also watch out for ISM non-manufacturing index.

President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill to avert the fiscal cliff, after the house and senate approved the much-debated legislation. Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, signed the bill using an autopen; a mechanical device that copies his signature.

In the currency space, the euro slips versus the dollar, touching a new three-week low after minutes from the US Fed's last meeting indicates that while the Fed looks set to continue buying bonds, some policymakers are reticent about further increasing its USD 2.9 trillion balance sheet. The dollar index rises to 80.50 levels.

In commodities, Brent crude prices slips below USD 112 levels on profit taking.

In precious metals, gold prices slip more than a percent to trade around USD 1656 levels.