The European markets are poised for a higher open on Wednesday, after Japan announced additional stimulus to shore up the economy. The Asian markets rose on the news and the U.S. index futures gained.
The DAX futures are adding 30.00 points, the CAC 40 futures are gaining 22.50 points and the Euro Stoxx 50 futures are rising 9.00 points. The FTSE 100 futures are advancing 9.50 points and the Swiss Market Index futures are climbing 17.00 points.
The European markets added to the previous session's losses on Tuesday, amid profit taking as well as concerns about the situation in Spain. The DAX of Germany fell by 0.76 percent and the CAC 40 of France lost 1.15 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. dropped by 0.43 percent and the SMI of Switzerland decreased by 0.23 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of Eurozone bluechip stocks declined by 1.17 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, finished down by 0.12 percent.
Among economic news, the Bank of Japan embarked on a powerful monetary easing by expanding the total size of the asset purchase program by about 10 trillion yen and extending the asset purchase deadline by six months.
A survey by Westpac and the Melbourne Institute showed that the annualized growth rate of the leading index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future, was 2.2 percent in July, below its long term trend of 2.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia said a strong exchange rate helps offset the inflationary impulse from the terms of trade shock. The central bank said this in a paper prepared for a conference, jointly hosted by the International Monetary Fund, the Australian Treasury and the RBA in Canberra.
At 4.30 am ET, the Bank of England is set to release the minutes of the monetary policy meeting held on September 5 and 6. The nine-member committee left the size of quantitative easing unchanged at 375 billion pounds and retained the key interest rate at 0.50 percent.
On the corporate front, striking miners at Lonmin Plc's Marikana platinum mine in South Africa's North West province finally struck a deal with the management on Tuesday on wages after a 39-day violent strike. The protesting miners were demanding pay rises and recognition of a new union.
Spanish textile company Inditex Group posted a 32 percent higher first-half net profit amid a 17 percent increase in sales.
Syngenta has agreed to acquire Pasteuria Bioscience, Inc., a US-based biotechnology company, for aggregate payments of $86 million, with additional deferred payments of up to $27 million.
British technology firm Smiths Group reported a decline in fiscal 2012 pre-tax profit hurt by one-time costs. Revenue increased with growth across all divisions.
PZ Cussons said its performance in the June 1 to September 18 period was in line with management expectations.
In Asia/Pacific, major markets are firm. Australia's All Ordinaries is advancing 0.47 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is gaining 1.1 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 is gaining 1.2 percent. The Indian market is closed for a public holiday.
The U.S. futures indicate a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages eventually ended the day mixed, although they were all nearly flat. While the Dow inched up 0.1 percent, the Nasdaq edged down 0.03 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent.
Among commodities, crude for October delivery is advancing $0.72 to $96.01 per barrel and December gold is rising $7.9 to $1779.1 a troy ounce.
by RTT Staff Writer
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