The Asian stock markets are looking at a mixed lead with a slightly positive bias on Wednesday, with bargain hunting likely on the menu following heavy consolidation earlier in the week.
Some upbeat economic data from the United States provides a lift as Standard & Poor's reported a bigger than expected increase in home prices in major metropolitan areas.
But that is countered by lingering concerns about Europe, along with a report from the Conference Board showing a continued deterioration in consumer confidence in June.
The major U.S. averages finished higher on Tuesday as the Dow rose 32.01 points or 0.3 percent to finish at 12.534.67, while the NASDAQ advanced 17.90 points or 0.6 percent to end at 2,854.06 and the S&P 500 climbed 6.27 points or 0.5 percent at 1,319.99.
The major European markets were mixed on Tuesday as the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent. The benchmark SMI showed a loss earlier in the day, but managed to close 0.22 percent higher.
The Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday as Japan's Nikkei lost 0.81 percent, while Malaysia shed 0.56 percent, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.41 percent, Taiwan retreated 0.40 percent, Singapore's Straits Times fell 0.34 percent and China's Shanghai Composite eased 0.09 percent. Moving higher, Indonesia collected 0.62 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.45 percent, Thailand was up 0.32 percent and India gathered 0.14 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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