Asia-Pacific markets see mixed day

Equities markets in Asia and the Pacific remained mixed once again on Thursday. The Sensex dropped 3.83 percent to 17,998.39 at the close. Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite was 3.5 percent lower to 5,825.28, and the Straits Times index was down 0.78 percent to 3,809.69 in Singapore. Among gainers on the session, the Hang Seng index added 0.57 percent to 29,465.05 in Hong Kong while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.78 percent to 9,637.07. The Kopsi index was 1.07 percent higher to 2,005.09 in South Korea. Meanwhile in Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 1.27 percent to 6,781 while the S&P/ASX200 was up 1.31 percent to 6,767.7.

Tokyo’s markets were higher on the day. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.89 percent to 17,106.09 and the Topix index was 1.09 percent higher to 1,617.75, while the Mothers market jumped 7.22 percent to 883.84.

European markets were mixed, with more losers than gainers. Madrid’s IBEX added 0.5 percent to 15,507.1. Elsewhere, the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.78 percent to 1,572.92. In Frankfurt, the Dax dropped 0.8 percent to 7,921.4. The Paris CAC-40 fell 0.89 percent to 5,767.24. In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.02 percent to 6,609.4 and the FTSE 250 was 1.1 percent lower to 11,411.6.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.22 percent lower to 13,861.81, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.35 percent to 2,782.82 and the S&P 500 was down 0.38 percent to 1,535.35.

Oil prices resumed their upward spiral during the day. Precious metals prices were higher in New York, while base metals were mixed in London. Among agricultural commodities, grains prices were higher on the Chicago Board of Trade while meat and livestock prices were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The US dollar fell again in relation to the euro, while sterling saw gains on a report of better retail sales in the UK.

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