US markets slide Wednesday

U.S. markets slid Wednesday with the Dow Jones industrial average closing lower for the third consecutive session and falling below 15,000. It was the second close below 15,000 -- the other occurring on June 5 -- since it broke the 15,000 barrier for the first time on May 7. With no major economic reports released Wednesday, investors on Wall Street took cues from Asia and Europe, where stocks were broadly lower. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was off 0.21 percent, while Shanghai composite index in China fell 1.39 percent. The DAX 30 in Germany was down 0.96 percent, while the FTSE 100 index in Britain lost 0.64 percent. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 126.79 points or 0.84 percent to settle at 14,995.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 shed 13.61 points, or 0.84 percent, to end the day at 1,612.52. The Nasdaq composite dropped 36.52 points or 1.06 percent, to 3,400.43. On the New York Stock Exchange, 604 issues advanced and 2,516 declined on total volume of 3.2 billion shares. The 10-year treasury note fell 12/32 to yield 2.232 percent. Crude oil prices closed at $95.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 47 cents. Gold added $10.70 to reach $1,387.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. On currency markets, the euro rose to $1.3334 Wednesday from Tuesday's closing mark of $1.3313. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at 96.04 yen from 96.02 yen. On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn for July delivery lost 9 1/4 cents at $6.50 1/4 per bushel, while soybeans shed 3/4 cents to close at $15.39 3/4 and wheat lost 13 3/4 cents to finish at $6.83.