Asian stocks sold off, with the Nikkei falling 1.6% and the Kospi down 1.7%. Australia's ASX 200 closed down .6%, and the Hang Seng ended down .5%. Bucking the trend, China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.4%, reversing from early losses.
European markets gained, on news that Spain plans to nationalize its savings banks to relive them from their debt. The FTSE rose .5%, while the CAC 40 jumped 1.3%. Spain's Ibex 35 led the region, gaining 1.8%.
US markets ended mixed, with the Dow rising 49 points to 11782, while the Nasdaq fell .6%. GE's impressive earnings report jolted the stock 7% higher, while Apple, the worst-performing stock on the S&P 500, fell another 1.8% to 326.72.
Earnings from tech companies failed to impress the markets, with AMD dropping 6%, Google shedding 2.4%, and Ebay falling 2.5%, even though all had upbeat reports.
Treasuries and Commodities
US treasuries rose with the 10-year note up 12/32 to yield 3.41%, and the 30-year note gaining 23/32 to yield 4.56%.
Energy ended mixed, as oil slipped .5% to 89.11, while gasoline jumped 1.7%.
Copper gained .9%, climbing to 4.30, but gold eased .4%, and silver ended .2% lower.
Currencies
The dollar was hit by selling across the board, as traders cheered Spain's decision to address bank debt. The Euro soared 1.2%, climbing to 1.3622.
Euro Rallies more than 1.5 Cents
The Swiss Franc rose nearly 1%, closing at .9582, and the Yen rose .5% to 82.57.
Economic Outlook
Monday's earnings reports will include McDonald's Halliburton, Amgen and American Express.
Tuesday's State of the Union address from President Obama will be closely watched for hints at policy changes, as the economy is certain to be a pivotal topic.