Global Stocks Mixed Ahead of Earnings
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Global stock markets were mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited corporate earnings results at home and abroad while oil prices climbed higher.
KEEPING SCORE: Europe had a mixed start with FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent at 6,195.43. Germany's DAX added 0.2 percent to 9,700.15 but France's CAC 40 traded 0.1 percent lower at 4,308.81. Futures showed that Wall Street was set for a tepid start. Dow futures rose 0.2 percent while S&P futures also added 0.3 percent.
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ANALYST'S TAKE: "U.S. company reporting is a key factor this week," said Michael McCarthy of CMC Markets, noting Monday's report by aluminum mining giant Alcoa's better than expected first-quarter earnings. While some bemoan the "jobless recovery" and weaker revenues, "In the meantime, investors who are not subscribers to the 'perfect world' theory of markets got on with buying Alcoa," he said in a commentary.
EARNINGS: Apart from Alcoa, later this week big U.S. banks will start releasing results, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, though expectations are low for this earnings season. In Asia, Samsung Electronics gave an earnings preview that surpassed expectations last week and results of other major companies are due in coming weeks.
ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 percent to 15,928.79 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,981.32, a day before South Koreans elect 300 new lawmakers to parliament. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.3 percent to 20,504.44 and Australia's S&X/ASX 200 added 0.9 percent to 4,975.60. But China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 3,023.65. Stocks advanced in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines but fell in Taiwan.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 43 cents to $40.79 per barrel. The contract rose 64 cents to close at $40.36 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 63 cents to $43.46 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 108.31 yen from 107.89 yen while the euro strengthened to $1.1422 from $1.1413.
(KA)