• The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI ended down 31.85 points, or 0.16 percent, at 19,855.53, the S&P 500 .SPX was unchanged at 2,268.9 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 20.00 points, or 0.36 percent, to 5,551.82.
The S&P 500 ended the day unchanged on Tuesday as lower oil prices hurt energy stocks, offsetting advances in healthcare and financial sectors, while the Nasdaq ended at another record high.
The Dow's 20,000 milestone remained elusive as it was weighed down by declines in IBM (IBM.N), Merck & Co (MRK.N), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Procter & Gamble (PG.N).
• Asian shares were positive on Wednesday after major stateside indexes closed mixed as investors prepared for Donald Trump's first full press conference as president-elect.
Base metal prices were up strongly overnight in London on news of better-than-expected producers price inflation in China. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had closed 3 percent higher at $5,760 per tonne, while Zinc closed 2 percent to $2,720 a tonne and Lead closed up 3.9 percent to $2,190.
Major Australian miners surged in early trade: Rio Tinto up 4.54 percent, Fortescue Metals added 3.78 percent and BHP Billiton gained 3.53 percent,
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.26 percent during early trade after Toshiba shares were up 2.77 percent.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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