Paris CAC-40 drops 1.4 percent

Asia-Pacific equities were mixed on Tuesday. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index added 0.3 percent to 22,885.84, while in Singapore as the Straits Times Index gained 0.63 percent to 3,641.3. However, the Sensex was 0.24 percent lower to 15,009.88 in India. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries were down 0.49 percent to 6,397.8. The Tokyo markets also saw losses, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.1 percent to 18,252.67 and the Topix 0.2 percent lower to 1,789.2.

European markets were down substantially. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 1.06 percent to 1,608.25. In Madrid, the IBEX was 1.01 percent lower to 14,823.9, while the Dax dropped 1.39 percent to 7,964.76 and the Paris CAC-40 was down 1.4 percent to 6,019.22. The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 were also lower, with the FTSE 100 down 1.14 percent to 6,636.4 and the FTSE 259 falling 1.08 percent to 11,732.1.

Wall Street was lower in midday trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.22 percent lower to 13,619.81. The Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.36 percent to 2,660.48, while the S&P 500 was down 0.44 percent to 1,525.12.

Crude oil was higher on the session, while metals prices were mixed. Gold and silver gained on the day, but platinum and most base metals saw declines.

In the currency markets, the euro hit a new record high versus the US dollar, which also dropped versus sterling and the yen. Prices on US treasury bonds were higher and yields declined.

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