European markets mostly higher on session
Most equities markets in Asia and the Pacific were lower on Friday. The main exception was the Sensex, which added 0.18 percent to 13,796.16 in India. The Straits Times index in Singapore dropped 0.07 percent to 3,466.92, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index fell 1.34 percent to 20,468.21. Meanwhile in Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries were down 0.86 percent to 6,297.3. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.7 percent lower to 4,021.68 on fears that recent advances could prompt a correction from the Chinese government.
The Tokyo markets closed lower on broker downgrades, profit forecasts that disappointed investors, and overnight weakness on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1 percent to 17,553.72, while the Topix index fell 0.8 percent to 1,723.09.
Most European markets were higher on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.51 percent to 1,580.75. The CAC-40 in Paris added 0.63 percent to 6,050.63, while in Frankfurt the Dax was up 0.86 percent to 7,479.34. The London markets were mixed, however, with the FTSE 100 up 0 .64 percent to 6,565.7 but the FTSE 250 down 0.24 percent to 12,033.8.
Wall Street was helped by the Labor Department released new producer price index data that hinted at a moderation of inflation. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.69 percent higher to 13,306.88, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.84 percent to 2,554.91 and the S&P 500 was up 0.74 percent to 1,502.74. The Russell 2000 index of small and mid-caps gained 0.95 percent to 826.4.
Crude oil prices were up slightly and gasoline held virtually steady. Precious metals saw gains, with gold up more than $5 per troy ounce and platinum up more than $17 per troy ounce.
The US dollar and the Japanese yen strengthened on the week, but the Australian dollar gained on both currencies. Yields were up on US Treasury bonds.
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