Equities markets mixed Tuesday

The equities markets were mixed on Tuesday, with Asian markets generally up with the exception of Tokyo, London and US markets mixed, and the eurozone down a bit.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index was up 0.1 percent to 2,175.20 as technology stocks rose. However, at one point in the day the index had been up 0.7 percent, which was a 9-week high.

The technology sector helped Taipei as well, as the weighted index there closed up 0.4 percent to 5,909.10.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was 0.2 percent higher to close at 13,719.32, but volume was very low as investors waited for the results of several upcoming Chinese initial public offerings.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to close at 4,102.0.

Tokyo, meanwhile, was lower on weakness in the steel sector, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.2 percent to close at 11,133.65 and the Topix index down 0.1 percent to 1,136.32.

In London, the mining sector was up but Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone operator had its worst day in a year, taking the FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to close at 4982.5, while the FTSE 250 fared better, rising 0.21 percent to end the day at 7001.7.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to close at 10,503.68, but the S&P 500 was up fractionally to 1,194.08 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent to 2,061.612 on a rising semiconductor sector.

In the eurozone, profit-taking took the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.1 percent to 1,095.92 as losses in the telecommunications sector wiped out advances in the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors.

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