Lauren Wall

Wall Street lost ground for a third consecutive session on Wednesday on growing uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve may start to wind down its stimulus, which has been a driving force behind the rally in equities this year.

Wall Street slipped on Thursday but finished sharply off their session lows as a rally in Hewlett-Packard's shares offset worries about weak Chinese manufacturing data and the prospects of the Federal Reserve reducing its monetary stimulus.

Markets lost steam after mixed earnings from US firms added to fears about Europe's economic slowdown.

Wall Street lost ground for a third consecutive session on Wednesday on growing uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve may start to wind down its stimulus, which has been a driving force behind the rally in equities this year.

Wall Street slipped on Thursday but finished sharply off their session lows as a rally in Hewlett-Packard's shares offset worries about weak Chinese manufacturing data and the prospects of the Federal Reserve reducing its monetary stimulus.

Markets lost steam after mixed earnings from US firms added to fears about Europe's economic slowdown.