Global markets mixed on session

Equities were higher in Europe on Thursday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 percent to 1,584.66, while the CAC-40 gained 0.15 percent to 6,027 and the Xetra Dax was 0.24 percent higher to 7,499.5. In London the FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent to 6,579.3, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.34 percent to 12,143.6. Despite the gains, there were a number of high-profile decliners on the day in the continental markets, including companies in the chemicals, automobile manufacturing, and banking sectors. The oil sector was higher, on both the continent and in the UK markets. Other gainers in the UK included internet gamers and airlines. Miners and hotel operators were among the decliners on the session in the UK.

With the exception of Tokyo’s equities markets, Asian and Pacific markets were also higher on the session. The Straits Times index in Singapore added 0.24 percent to 3,525.51, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index gained 0.27 percent to 20,994.61. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries closed at 6,370.1, a gain of 1.1 percent, while the Sensex was 1.22 percent higher to 14,299.71 in India. Tokyo’s markets dropped slightly on the session after economic growth data was weaker than expected and the Bank of Japan declined to raise interest rates. The interest rate decision in Japan sent the yen weaker. That helped exporters, including carmakers and the electronics sector.

Wall Street was lower at midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.15 percent to 13,467.7 after a short time at 13,500.37. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.22 percent to 2,541.87, while the S&P 500 fell 0.11 percent to 1,512.45. Even takeover news from a credit card services provider and a data management company, both announcing purchases by private equity, wasn’t enough to send the markets higher. There were gains in the retail sector based on quarterly reports. On the other hand, there were declines among computer makers and construction machinery companies.

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