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. Bernanke Speech Fed chairman speaks at Atlanta with a dovish tone - no direct mention of QE3  Monetary stimulus still needed to boost a