Most European markets see gains

Most European markets were higher on the session, but Madrid’s IBEX dropped 0.04 percent to 14,783.8. In Frankfurt the Dax added 0.11 percent to 7,955.3, while the CAC-40 gained 0.12 percent to 5,806.18 in Paris. The Pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.16 percent higher to 1,570.81. Media, aerospace, chipmakers and the utilities sector was lower. London’s markets saw gains as well, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.54 percent to 6,535.2 and the FTSE 250 was up 1.15 percent to 11,360.2.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Wednesday. Gainers included Taiwan’s Taiex index, which was 0.8 percent higher to 9,700.07. The Kospi index was up 2.62 percent to 2,014.09 in South Korea, while the Shanghai Composite gained 2.64 percent to 5,552.3. In India, the Sensex was up 2.99 percent to 17,847.04. Australia’s S&P/ASX200 traded even at 6,659.9 while the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.03 percent to 6,665.4. The Straits Times index closed lower at 3,754.62 in Singapore, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.55 percent to 27,479.94. Tokyo’s markets were higher. The Nikkei 225 added 0.9 percent to 17,199.89, while the Topix index gained 1.48 percent to 1,664.01 and the Mothers market jumped 5.03 percent to 794.35.

Wall Street was lower on slowed expansion of the service sector and on a report that US mortgage applications dropped last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.29 percent to 14,006.67 in early afternoon trade, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.16 percent to 2,742.6 and the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,543.46.

Crude oil prices were higher after the US Energy Information Administration reported that while crude oil stockpiles were higher last week, gasoline and distillates inventories dropped. Precious metals prices were mixed while prices for copper and lead were higher. Prices for agricultural commodities were mixed.

The euro was lower in relation to the US dollar, while sterling declined in relation to both the shared currency and the greenback.

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