After recovering from a 200-point dive and mounting an afternoon rally, U.S. stocks retreated near the close Wednesday in the wake of a coordinated half-point rate cut by six North American and European central banks.

In an afternoon news conference, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called for a special meeting of G20 officials this weekend as part of a “systemic approach on a significant scale” to combat the global financial crisis. The G20 comprises representatives of the world’s 19 largest economies plus the European Union.

Technology stocks were buoyed by the bankers’ action with the Morgan Stanley High-Technology Index rising 2.4 percent to 393.

Stocks that have been pummeled in recent weeks showed some strength in morning trading. Apple rose 3.7 percent to $92.89, eBay jumped 6.4 percent to $17.56, and Dell added 3.3 percent to $13.99.

In the broader markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 15 points, or 0.2 percent to 9,432. The Nasdaq kept its head above water, tacking on 0.7 percent to 1,767.

The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, joined by central banks in the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland, cut target interest rates by a half point.

Central banks in China, Hong Kong and Australia had cut their rates earlier in the week.

The action by the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee lowered the target for the federal funds rate 50 basis points to 1.5  percent.

The central bankers’ efforts, however, did little to calm European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 5.2 percent to 4,367, Germany’s DAX slid 5.9 percent to 5,014 and France’s CAC 40 dropped 6.3 percent to 3,497.

Asian markets also continued their decline. The Nikkei 225 lost 9.4 percent to 9,203, the Hang Seng fell 8.2 percent to 15,432 and the Straits Times index skidded 6.6 percent to 144.
In the news conference, Mr. Paulson acknowledged that the Treasury’s rescue plan may not save all financial companies.
In a statement, the Fed said recessionary pressures now outweigh any concern about inflation.

“Incoming economic data suggest that the pace of economic activity has slowed markedly in recent months,” the statement said. “Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit. Inflation has been high, but the committee believes that the decline in energy and other commodity prices and the weaker prospects for economic activity have reduced the upside risks to inflation.”

The story was much the same in Europe, where the European Central Bank cited the fall in energy prices explaining the rate cut.

“Inflationary pressures have started to moderate in a number of countries, partly reflecting a marked decline in energy and other commodity prices,” the bank’s statement said