Stocks turn negative

Cheap money is all very well, but investors started selling once they realised that there's a reason why the European Central Bank has to help out the shaky financial sector.

The bank's massive liquidity infusion gave European markets a nice initial pop, which faded within a couple of hours. Britain's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 fell 0.6 per cent, while Germany's DAX dipped 0.4 per cent.

U.S. stock futures also turned negative. Dow futures fell 16 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 12,015 points. S&P 500 futures were down 2.6 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 1,233.40.

Stocks rose across the world after the European Central Bank lent $639-billion (U.S.) out to more than 500 European banks, the biggest infusion of ECB credit into the banking system in the euro's history.

Bank stocks, which had featured as one of the best-performing sectors following the ECB tender, pared gains, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index up 0.1 per cent as worries turned to why banks needed so much money.

German government bonds, which had been falling, turned positive.

Copper prices pared gains. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,440 a tonne in official rings, from a close of $7,260 on Tuesday.

Gold was little changed at $1,617.10 an ounce.