US equity markets erases day's gains to close flat

The US equity markets gave up all of the day's earlier gains to close lower for a fifth straight session. This is after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged the economic slowdown, but didn't imply any further monetary stimulus ahead. 

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. The CBOE volatility index fell below 18.

Ben Bernanke, Chairman, US Federal Reserve said, "Growth seems likely to pick up somewhat in the second half of the year. Overall the economic recovery seems to be continuing at a moderate pace at a rate that is both uneven across sectors and frustratingly slow across unemployed and underemployed workers."

"Recent indicators suggest some loss of momentum with last Friday's job market report showing an increase in private payrolls of just 83,000 in May. I expect hiring to pick up at last month's pace as growth strengthens in the second half of the year. But again recent data highlights that you need to monitor the jobs situation carefully," he added.

European shares finished flat after a four-session slide, but more falls are expected as growth concerns and the euro zone peripheral debt crisis continue to weigh on sentiment. France' CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE ended flat, with a positive bias.

The dollar fell to a one-month low versus its major counterparts and to a record low against the Swiss Franc as Fed Reserve chairman said that the central bank should maintain record monetary stimulus to boost a "frustratingly slow" economic recovery.

Oil prices remained choppy as news that Saudi Arabia planning to raise output in June regardless of the result of OPEC's meeting today hemmed sentiment.

Copper holds steady as the dollar's drop to a one-month low drew some investors into the base metal, while concerns about patchy US economic data limited gains.

Gold falls from a five-week high as European debt concerns eased, eroding the appeal of the precious metal as a haven.