Mixed day for Asia-Pacific equities

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Tuesday. Gainers on the session included the Straits Times index, which added 0.47 percent to 3,369.31 in Singapore. The Hang Seng index was up 0.51 percent to 26,732.87 while South Korea’s Kospi index added 1.18 percent to 1,861.47. On the other hand, the Taiex index was down 0.3 percent to 7,807.39 in Taiwan. In Australia the ASX/S&P200 was 0.42 percent lower to 6,236.9 and the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.62 percent to 6,292.6. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.83 percent to 4,836.17 and India’s Sensex was down 0.94 percent to 19,709.64.

Tokyo’s equities markets were mostly lower on more data showing that the US economy is slowing down. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.27 percent to 15,207.86 and the Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 1,469.77. The Mothers market of small and mid-caps, however, added 2.1 percent to 800.61

European markets were also mixed. The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.16 percent. In Paris, the CAC-40 was down 0.1 percent to 5,509.37 and Madrid’s IBEX dropped 0.24 percent to 15,282.1, but the Dax added 0.32 percent to 7,850.74 in Frankfurt. In London, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both saw gains. The 100 was up 0.02 percent to 6,279.3 while the 250 gained 0.46 percent to 10,187.2.

New York markets were higher in late afternoon trade, aided by the European Central Bank’s move to help the credit markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.47 percent higher to 13,228.89 on a roller coaster day, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.66 percent to 2,591.53 and the S&P 500 was up 0.51 percent to 1,453.31.

Crude oil and grains prices were lower on the session, while precious metals and most base metals were higher.

The yen and sterling saw declines on the day, while the US dollar remained close to even in relation to the euro.

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