* Most U.S. stocks slip on bank results, Nasdaq gains
* U.S. dollar slides against euro as risk rally fades
* Oil slips after EIA says U.S. crude stocks fell
* Bonds retreat as supply looms after Bernanke rally
(Adds close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - Most U.S. stocks slipped on
Wednesday after poor quarterly banking results, but the
tech-rich Nasdaq gained on robust earnings from Apple while oil
prices slid on weak demand and rising U.S. stockpiles of fuel.
The U.S. dollar drifted lower as stronger home prices and
solid earnings by many companies, especially drugmakers, dented
the greenback's safe-haven allure.
U.S. Treasury prices slid as a shadow of next week's large
supply offering prompted investors to take profits from the
previous day's big gains.
Trading was choppy and lacked conviction, with some
equities indexes and currencies testing key technical levels,
analysts said.
Both Britain's leading stock index and European shares
closed higher for an eighth straight session, boosted by
pharmaceutical stocks, but the gains were slim as investors
questioned how long the equity rally can be sustained.
The rise in European shares as measured by the pan-European
FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top regional companies
marked its longest winning streak since December 2006.
The Nasdaq capped its eleventh-straight daily gain, boosted
by solid profits from technology bellwether Apple Inc <AAPL.O>
and coffee chain Starbucks Corp <SBUX.O>.
But disappointing results from banks and a pullback in
energy shares pushed the Dow and the S&P 500 Index lower.
Investors awaited more news on the economy and earnings to see
whether the recent rally in risk appetite can be sustained.
"There's a kind of a pause until we get more news on both
the earnings and the economic front," said Richard Sparks,
senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in
Cincinnati.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed down 34.68
points, or 0.39 percent, at 8,881.26 while the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 0.51 points, or 0.05 percent, at
954.07.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 10.18 points, or
0.53 percent, at 1,926.38.
At least nine brokerages raised their price target on Apple
a day after the iPhone maker's quarterly results smashed Wall
Street forecasts on strong sales of Macs and iPhones and
higher-than-expected gross margins. [].
But several major U.S. banks, led by Wells Fargo & Co
<WFC.N>, said the troubled economy drove credit losses higher,
reducing profitability in the second quarter. []
Rising loan losses also reduced earnings at U.S. Bancorp
<USB.N>, SunTrust Banks Inc <STI.N> and KeyCorp <KEY.N>.
Crude oil fell but settled above $65 a barrel.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose by 800,000 barrels in the
week to July 17, matching analysts' expectations, according to
the U.S. Energy Information Administration. []
Inventories of distillates, including heating oil and
diesel, rose to a fresh 25-year high. The rise came as demand
for the fuels, which are linked to industrial activity, fell by
11 percent over the past four weeks against year-ago levels.
Overall U.S. product demand fell by 4.8 percent against the
same period last year and refinery utilization dropped by 2.1
percentage points in the midst of the summer driving season.
U.S. crude <CLc1> settled 21 cents lower at $65.40 a barrel
in choppy trade that sent prices down to $63.76 earlier. Brent
crude rose 34 cents to settle at $67.21 a barrel.
U.S. Treasuries retreated as investors prepared for a
looming wave of bond supply and took profits after Tuesday's
gains on comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
[]
Bernanke ignited the strongest long-bond rally in nearly
two months on Tuesday by indicating the economy was too weak to
tighten monetary policy now but also by letting investors know
he would end the era of easy money before inflation took off.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> fell
16/32 in price to yield 3.54 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury
note <US2YT=RR> fell 2/32 in price to yield 0.94 percent.
Gold for August delivery <GCQ9> settled up $6.40 at $953.30
an ounce in New York.
The U.S dollar was down against a basket of major
currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> off 0.27 percent
at 78.715.
The euro <EUR=> was up 0.07 percent at $1.4221, and against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.26 percent at 93.44.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of leading shares rose
0.2 percent at 890.05, its highest close since early January.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> edged up 0.5 percent to its highest level since
late September before slipping 0.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei
<> gained 0.7 percent.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Matthew Robinson, Burton
Frierson, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Joanne
Frearson, Christopher Johnson and Alex Lawler; Writing by
Herbert Lash)
