Belarus has blocked the transit of Russian oil through its territory to European countries including Germany and Poland, news reports said today, raising the stakes in a bitter energy dispute between Russia and the neighbouring former Soviet nation.

Surging gold and energy prices dragged stocks lower today as inflation fears curbed Wall Street’s enthusiasm over solid first-quarter earnings from financial services firm Citigroup Inc.

Investors put off major buying decisions today, leaving stocks mixed as Wall Street awaited the results of the first Federal Reserve rate-setting meeting chaired by Ben Bernanke.

Wall Street zigzagged through a listless session today, closing mostly higher as a spate of multibillion-dollar acquisitions lifted the technology sector and energy prices extended their declines.

Investor apathy pushed stocks lower today as Wall Street nervously awaited a key decision on interest rates, the transfer of power in Iraq and next month’s second-quarter earnings.