Europe, Asia mostly lower on session

Most European markets saw declines for the second session in a row on Wednesday. The major exception was Madrid’s IBEX, which added 0.16 percent to 14,937.7. In Paris, the CAC-40 dropped 1.19 percent to 5,837.11, while the Dax was 1.46 percent lower to 7,692.55 in Frankfurt. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.92 percent to 1,571.04. There were gains in the healthcare and media sectors. Carmakers were mixed, while there were significant declines in the engineering and semiconductors sectors.

London’s markets saw losses as well. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.68 percent to 6,454.3, while the FTSE 250 was down 1.46 percent to 11,415.2. The pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors saw gains, as did some banks and the defense aerospace sector. Power generators, miners, the semiconductors sector, and builders and property developers were lower on the session.

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were also lower, with a couple of exceptions. In South Korea, the Kospi index added 0.6 percent to 2,004.22, the first time it has closed above the 2,000 level, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.7 percent to 4,323.97. On the other hand, Australian equities saw declines as the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 1.2 percent to 6,378 and the S&P/ASX200 was 1.27 percent lower to 6,340.5. Elsewhere, the Taiex in Taiwan was down 0.04 percent to 9,740.13, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 0.47 percent to 23,362.18. In India the Sensex dropped 0.61 percent to 15,699.33. The Straits Times index was 0.86 percent lower to 3,658.53 in Singapore.

Tokyo’s major indices were also mostly lower on the session. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 17,858.42, while the Topix index dropped 0.68 percent to 1,754.03. On the other hand, the Mothers market of small and mid-caps added 0.66 percent to close at 857.81. The retail sector was mixed, while carmakers and the electronics sector were lower on a strengthening yen and the oil sector declined after the price of oil fell overnight.

Wall Street was higher in midday trade after prices rose and fell during morning trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.38 percent higher at mid-session to 13,769.71, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.28 percent to 2,647.27 and the S&P 500 had added 0.36 percent to 1,516.51. Gains came in the pharmaceuticals and aerospace sector, while the internet sector was mixed.

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