Europe’s markets see first gains in six sessions

Europe’s markets were higher Wednesday for the first time in six sessions. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.64 percent to 1,300.98. In Paris the CAC-40 was 1.72 percent higher to 4,756.43 while the Dax added 2.12 percent to 6,683.71 in Frankfurt and the IBEX gained 2.52 percent to 12,948.1. Markets were higher in London as well, with the FTSE 100 up 1.49 percent to 5,853.5 and the FTSE 250 gaining 2.01 percent to 10,144.1.

Wall Street was up in early afternoon trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.44 percent to 12,267.94 early in the afternoon while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.77 percent to 2,277.6 and the S&P 500 gained 0.67 percent to 1,335.61.

Tokyo’s equities markets were lower again on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.16 percent to 12,972.06 while the Topix index fell 0.14 percent to 1,263.91 and the Mothers market dropped 1.76 percent to 648.38. Markets were mixed elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific Region. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.05 percent to 1,677.1 while the Taiex added 0.16 percent to 8,483.95 in Taiwan and the Sensex gained 1.24 percent to 16,542.08 in India. Decliners included Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which was 0.02 percent lower to 23,114.34. In Australia the S&P/ASX200 was down 0.07 percent to 5,376.6 while the Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.14 percent to 5,471.6. The Straits Times Index was 0.31 percent lower to 2,910.77 and the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.99 percent to 4,292.65.

Crude oil prices reached a new record high at $104.56 per barrel in New York before falling back slightly but remaining near the $104 per barrel level. Metals and grains prices were also higher.

The yen weakened against all major currencies as investors decided it was safe to pursue risky carry trades once again, while the US dollar and the British pound both touched new lows versus the euro.

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