The Asian stock markets are looking at another mixed open on Monday, thanks to a batch of conflicting global catalysts.
Positive support may be gleaned from the latest news about the impending showdown over the U.S. debt limit as House Republican leaders indicated they will hold a vote to authorize a three-month temporary debt limit increase to give lawmakers time to pass a budget that reduces spending. But consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in January.
In Europe, the Bank of Italy slashed its economic forecast for this year to project a worse contraction than was expected, citing the deteriorating external environment and the continuing weakness in domestic activity.
On the earnings front, upbeat results from Morgan Stanley and General Electric were offset by disappointing results from Intel and Capital One.
The major U.S. averages were mixed on Friday as the Dow added 53.68 points or 0.4 percent at finish at 13,649.70, and the S&P 500 climbed 5.04 points or 0.3 percent to end at 1,485.98. The NASDAQ also moved to the upside in late-day trading, but the tech-heavy index ended 1.29 points or less than a tenth of a percent lower at 3,134.71.
The European markets also were mixed on Friday as the DAX of Germany dropped 0.43 percent and the CAC 40 of France eased 0.07 percent. The SMI of Switzerland dipped 0.82 percent, but the FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.51 percent.
The Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday as Japan’s Nikkei soared 2.86 percent, while Indonesia spiked 1.53 percent, Taiwan advanced 1.52 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite surged 1.41 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.12 percent, Thailand gathered 0.95 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.69 percent, Singapore’s Straits Times collected 0.50 percent, India’s Sensex added 0.38 percent, Australia added 0.31 percent, Malaysia eased 0.28 percent and New Zealand shed 0.78 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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