Global stocks were mixed in muted trading on Tuesday amid a lack of fresh news to buoy market sentiment following an overnight slide on Wall Street, the Associated Press reported.
France’s CAC 40 was little changed in early trading, inching down 0.03 per cent to 5,252.50. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 per cent to 12,317.11, while Britain’s FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 per cent to 7,074.07.
The United States shares were also set for little change, with Dow futures steady at 17,910. S&P 500 futures were up 0.3 per cent to 2,092.10.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was barely unchanged, inching up 0.02 per cent to finish at 19,908.68. Investors were looking to sell after the index reached the psychologically key 20,000 mark momentarily last week.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2 per cent to 5,946.60. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6 per cent to 2,111.72, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.5 per cent to 27,595.32.
Investors have their eyes on economic growth data on China, set to be released later in the week. Monday’s trade data, showing a contraction by a bigger margin than expected, added to speculation of more stimulus measures.
“Asian markets haven’t managed to match the exceptional performance seen yesterday, which was on the back of China’s disappointing trade balance reading. Today seems to be a day of consolidation ahead of a data dump from China tomorrow,” said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia.
Benchmark US crude oil rose 45 cents to $52.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for many oils imported by the US refineries, gained 33 cents to $59.37 a barrel.
Source : Punch
