Wall Street sees advances at midday

European equities markets were mostly lower on Friday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.14 percent on the session to 1,566.82. While the IBEX added 0.62 percent to 14,816.5 in Madrid, the Paris CAC-40 was 0.12 percent lower to 5,883.29 and the Dax dropped 0.37 percent to 7,590.5 in Frankfurt. Banks and the semiconductors sector were higher on the session, but automobile manufacturers and utilities were mixed on the continent.

In London, the FTSE 100 ended the session even at 6,505.1 but the FTSE 250 fell 0.37 percent to 11,583.6. UK retailers were higher on the session, along with some banks and property developers. Miners were mixed, but mostly lower, while segments of the UK utilities sector and aerospace saw declines.

Asia Pacific region markets were substantially lower on the session. The Sensex was 0.86 percent lower to 14,063.81 in India, while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 1.26 percent to 6,258.4. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 1.4 percent to 20,509.15 and the Straits Times index in Singapore was down 1.47 percent to 3,506.29.

Tokyo shares were down as well, with the Nikkei 225 at 17,779.09 by the end of the session, a decline of 1.5 percent. The Topix index was 1.3 percent lower to 1,756.16. Real estate was significantly lower in Tokyo, while shippers and carmakers also declined. The mobile telecommunications sector was mixed.

Wall Street was somewhat higher in midday trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.19 percent higher to 13,291.68, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 percent to 2,554.13 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.26 percent to 1,494.57. News that the trade deficit fell by 6.2 percent in April was a help in the gains. The semiconductors and utilities sectors were higher on the session, while the media sector was mixed on bids news.

Story link: Wall Street sees advances at midday