US stocks were muted on Wednesday after retail sales in the United States fell for the second consecutive month.
The Dow Jones Index started up, but was later down 24 points, to 12,549. The Nasdaq Composite was down 6 points, to 2837.
The FTSE in London closed flat, up just 10 points to 5483
Across the Tasman, the Australian 200 Index closed down 9 points on Wednesday, or 0.22%, to 4063. The NZX 50 closed 44 points down, or 1.3%, to 3382.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US97 US.97 per barrel. Gold was trading at $US1618.75 per ounce.
