US shares turned flat to lower going into the close as investors awaited more earnings.
Better than expected Chinese data sent resource stocks climbing and the iron ore price rose 6%.
A billion tonnes of iron ore is on its way to China's mills this year https://t.co/piv4WkjJSp pic.twitter.com/OAYTgfCz76
— Bloomberg (@business) 14 July 2017
In the markets, the Dow Jones was down over six at 21, 631, while the Nasdaq added around 2 at 6,314.
The broader based S&P 500 however also went lower, sheddding 0.37 at 2,458.
Oil went south as a barrel of WTI (West Texas Intermediate) dropped 1.16% to $46 a barrel.
Tech stocks were making gains ahead of the start of earnings season in the sector proper, with Netflix starting proceedings after the bell.
Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) added 0.8% to $73.35.
On the losing front, banking major JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) lost 1.04% to $91.29.
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US shares were still ahead at mid-session, but traders were looking for earnings catalysts ahead to set things moving.
The Dow Jones was up around 14 at 21,652, the S&P500 added 2.33 to 2,461, while the tech heavy Nasdaq was up over seven points at 6,319.
In Toronto, the TSX was down around a point at 15,173.
Earlier in London, FTSE 100 finished the day about 25 points ahead as big mining stocks supported Britain’s blue chip index.
US crude took a turn lower though, losing 0.97% at $46.10 a barrel.
In stocks, miners across in the USA were also stronger after positive Chinese data bolstered commodities – Freeport Mcmoran Inc (NYSE:FCX) added over 3.6% to $13.06.
12pm - UK CLOSE
READ - FTSE 100 closes higher as Chinese data bolsters miners
PREVIEW...
Wall Street shares barely moved out of the gate, after finishing higher on Friday, and after futures had pointed north.
Investors are sitting on the fence ahead of a raft of earnings, which will hit later, including from tech darling Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and big banks later this week.
The benchmark Dow Jones is down almost six at the time of writing, at 21,631, while the S&P 500 is just 0.44 higher at 2,459.
The Nasdaq is showing more signs of life - up 10.15 at 6,322.
In oil, US crude - West Texas Intermediate, is ahead 0.28% to $46.64 a barrel.
In companies, Netflix is up 0.81% ahead of results later.
Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) shares lost 2.64% to $426.57 after it saw second quarter profit and revenue miss expectations, a disappointment after the fund management firm beat market hopes in the first quarter.
The firm said that during the second quarter, its net profit rose to US$857mln, or US$5.22 a share, up from US$789mln, or US$4.73 a share, in the same period a year ago
Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share stood were US$5.24, below the consensus forecast of US$5.40, while revenue rose by 6% to US$2.97bn, but was also the consensus estimate of US$2.99bn.