Tokyo bucks Asia-Pacific gains trend

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher on Wednesday. In Taiwan the Taiex index was up 0.17 percent to 8,493.46. Australia’s S&P/ASX200 gained 0.26 percent to 6,005, while the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.31 percent to 5,997.4. The Shanghai Composite was 0.5 percent higher to 4,980.08, while in South Korea the Kospi index was up 1.34 percent to 1,759.5. The Sensex gained 1.86 percent to 14,248.66 in India, while the Straits Times index added 2.39 percent to 3,321.5 in Singapore and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 2.84 percent to 22,346.88.

The main exception to the gains in the region came in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 traded about even at 15,900.64, while the Topix index dropped 0.3 percent to 1,544.89 and the Mothers market fell 0.02 percent to 703.56.

European markets were higher on the session. The Eurofirst 300 gained 1.57 percent to 1,505.51. In Madrid the IBEX added 0.84 percent to 14,359.2, while the Dax was 1.02 percent higher to 7,500.48 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 was up 1.83 percent to 4,418.17 and had no losers on the day. In London, the FTSE 100 added 1.81 percent to 6,196 and the FTSE 250 was up 2.55 percent to 10,910.7.

In early afternoon trade the New York equities markets were up even though many banks were lower again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.59 percent higher to 13,167.93, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.67 percent to 2,538.25 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.49 percent to 1,454.17.

Crude oil prices were mixed on US crude oil inventories that were higher and gasoline stockpiles that fell more than expected. Metals prices were mixed, with most base metals higher but gold and silver both lower in New York.

The yen was weaker as some investors began to once again engage in carry trades.

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