Wall Street ends lower; brent crude dips from highs of $118

In the US markets, stocks closed down, although off the lows of the day amid a slight pullback in oil prices and continued turmoil in West Asia.

Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.66% or 79.85 points at 12090.03. Nasdaq Composite was down 1.4% or 39.04 points at 2745.63. Standard & Poor's 500 was down 0.83% or 11.02 points at 1310.13. In economic data, total consumer borrowing rose to an annual rate of five billion dollars in January on strong car sales. This is the fourth consecutive monthly gains according to the US Federal Reserve. In the currency space, the euro retreated from 4 month highs against the dollar on the back of sovereign debt worries. However, expectations for higher euro zone interest rates may cap losses. Brent crude prices fell from intra-day highs of USD 118 as Arab media reports suggested that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was looking for an agreement allowing him to step down, but there was no official confirmation of the reports.