4:00 PM New York – Tech stocks were in focus in New York trading after earnings from Akamai, Nvidia and Symantec. Visa Inc, Tesoro Inc and Tyco International were the other leading decliners in trading. European markets closed higher after confidence index rose to 2-year high.

U.S. stocks and indexes closed lower on weak tech stocks and sluggish jobs market. Akamai Technologies Inc dropped sharply after it reported shrinking margins and Vistaprint NV plunged 30% after it guided weak sales. Symantec Corp and NVidia Corp dropped after issuing cautious outlook.

U.S. weekly jobless claims fall 11,000 to 457,000. BP agrees to pay $60 million in advance payments in August. Avis Budget submits bid for Dollar Thrifty.

Brunswick Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 16.3%. Goodyear Tire swings to second quarter profit. Exxon Mobil earnings rise by $3.6 billion. Automatic Data Processing profit falls. Southwest Airlines'' quarterly profit rises 23%. Motorola net jumps on 1.5% lower revenue.

The European markets soared after strong earnings and economic data. Euro-zone economic sentiment rises in July but household saving and business investment rate declines in the first quarter. German unemployment falls in July.

Sanofi-Aventis and Siemens reported rising net. Telefonica SA soared more than 3% after it reported higher earnings. Vallourec SA declined 3.1% after the company estimated weaker conditions in the steel industry. Nestle SA and Unilever declined more than 1% on the weaker than expected sales at Colgate Palmolive and Kellogg Co.

The benchmark index in Ukraine soared nearly 3.5% after the IMF approved an emergency loan of $15.2 billion.

The UK indexes rise on strong earnings. The UK home prices fall in July, mortgage approvals decline and M4 money supply flat in June. UK government asks corporations to abolish fixed retirement age plan as of 2011. AstraZeneca gets U.S. regulatory approval for Brilinta.

Stocks in Japan lost on weak durable goods orders from the U.S. Retail sales growth gained in June led by demand for cars and clothes. Rising transport need boosts shipping companies. Toshiba posts better-than-expected profit.

Stocks in China rallied led by cement and steelmakers after the central bank said it will keep a loose monetary policy. ICBC is planning a rights issue. China ranks first in emerging countries for investment. Industrial accidents are on the rise in China.

Stocks in Mumbai fluctuated and closed higher. Soros plans to buy Dubai Holding’s 4% stake in the BSE. Accenture awarded a two-year contract by UIDAI. Telecom department tighten rules and collect more data on subscribers. Bajaj Corp plans an IPO in August.

Commodities, Currencies and Yields

Dollar edged lower against euro to $1.298 and fell against the Japanese yen to 87.41.

Crude oil increased $1.36 to $78.35 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged higher 11 cent to $4.83 per mBtu and gasoline increased 3.86 cent to 204.06 cents.

Gold increased $8.30 in New York trading to close at $1,170.00 per ounce, silver added $0.17 to $17.62 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery increased 4.40 cents to $3.29 per pound.

Yields on 10-year U.S. bonds increased to 3.01% and on 30-year U.S. bonds added to 4.09%.