Asian shares and the euro drifted down on Thursday as investors fretted over whether European leaders can agree a plan to tackle the euro zone's two-year-old debt crisis at a make-or-break summit this week.
A report that the G20 was preparing a $600 billion lending facility for the International Monetary Fund to help Europe gave a late lift to U.S. stocks and briefly boosted the euro, but the effect faded after it was denied by G20 and IMF officials.
With big set-piece events looming -- the European Central Bank's final monetary policy meeting of the year on Thursday and the EU summit on Friday -- investors were unwilling to commit new funds. Riskier assets such as commodities lost ground.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI: ^DJI )| Index Value: | 12,196.37 |
|---|---|
| Trade Time: | 4:03PM EST |
| Change: |  46.24 (0.38%) |
| Prev Close: | 12,150.13 |
|---|---|
| Open: | 12,144.41 |
| Day's Range: | 12,060.37 -12,257.67 |
| 52wk Range: | 10,362.30 -12,928.50 |
