US markets mixed at the close

U.S. stock indexes closed mixed Wednesday following downturns in markets across Europe. The European Commission said Wednesday that economic sentiment indexes for the eurozone and the European Union fell in March, especially in three of the region's largest economies -- France, Germany and Spain. Markets were higher across Asia but down in France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Belgium and Sweden. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 33.49 points -- 0.23 percent -- to 14,526.16. The S&P 500 gave up 0.92 points, 0.06 percent, to 1,562.85. The tech-oriented Nasdaq composite index added 4.04 points, 0.12 percent, to 3,256.52. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,596 stocks advanced and 1,425 declined on a volume of 2.9 billion shares traded. Ten-year U.S. treasury bonds rose 18/32 to yield 1.852 percent. Against the dollar, the euro fell to $1.2779 from Tuesday's $1.286. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 94.44 yen from 94.45 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.18 percent, 22.17 points, to 12,493.79. In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.18 percent, 11.81 points, to 6,387.56.