US mkts end down on disappointing initial jobless claims

By Varinder Bansal, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18

The US markets end down as weekly initial jobless claims disappoint. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 23.5 points at 11,732. The Nasdaq Composite was down 2 points at 2,735 and S&P 500 Index fell 2.2 points at 1284. US Declining Sectors: Materials fell 0.9%, Utilities lost 0.8%, Health Care was down 0.6%, Financials fell 0.3% Ben Bernanke says that risks are more balanced now, as opposed to the downside a few months ago, and that 3-4% growth in 2011 seems reasonable European markets ended mixed post Trichet's comments about upward pressures on inflation: CAC was up 0.75% and DAX up 0.1% while FTSE was down 0.44%. Peripheral European markets gained post successful Italy, Spain auction; Euro rallied 1.8% versus USD (had gained 3% in last 2 days) Peripheral Markets: IBEX Spain was up 2.7% (gained 8% in last 2 days) and Athex up 0.3%. CBOE VIX was down 3.85% at 16.24. Europe update Spanish government sold about