US equity markets end down for fifth straight session

By Varinder Bansal, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18

The US equity markets ended down for the fifth straight session. Dow Jones was pulled down by Cisco, Bank of America and HP, which fell over 1%. Six out 10 sectoral indices were down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 19.15 points, to close at 12,070.81. Tech heavy NASDAQ Composite fell 1 point, to settle at 2,701.56 and S&P 500 Index ended at 1,284.94, down 1.23 points - longest slump in almost a year.

European markets ended flat - FTSE was flat at 5865. DAX was up 0.25% at 7103 and CAC up 0.2% at 3872.

Asian markets were subdued. Kospi was down 1%, Hang Seng down 0.7%, Nikkei down 0.4%, Shanghai dwon 0.25% and Taiwan down 0.1%. SGX Nifty was down 0.6% at 5530.

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