Global Markets Mixed Friday
TOKYO (AP) -- Global shares are mixed, with European markets wavering under political concerns such as the crisis sparked by the Catalan independence vote in Spain. Investors were awaiting U.S. jobs data later Friday.
Asian stocks rose after the Standard & Poor's 500 index logged an eighth straight day of gains. But trading in the region was subdued with markets in Shanghai and South Korea still closed for holidays.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent to 7,518.11 and Germany's DAX also was up 0.1 percent, at 12,976.67. The CAC 40 of France lost 0.2 percent to 5,371.04. Wall Street looked set for a slow start, with Dow futures down 0.1 percent at 22,728.00 and S&P 500 futures almost unchanged at 2,549.10.
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ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.3 percent to 20,690.71 and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong advanced 0.2 percent to 28,432.56. Australia's S&P ASX/200 surged 1.0 percent to 5,710.70 and India's Sensex jumped 0.6 percent to 31,775.92. Shares in Southeast Asia and Taiwan also were mostly higher.
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 2,552.07 and the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.5 percent to 22,775.39. The Nasdaq composite added 0.8 percent to 6,585.36. All three indexes set fresh record highs. The continued gains have some professional investors a bit nervous, because even the healthiest markets tend to have some sharp sell-offs from time to time.
SPAIN: Four Catalan police and political leaders were to appear in court for questioning about an independence referendum that Spain declared illegal. The Spanish government is to hold its weekly Cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis sparked by the independence vote.
U.S. JOBS DATA: The government will release the September employment report on Friday. The expectation is that the economy created around 100,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.4 percent, near a 16-year low.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 113.00 Japanese yen from 112.83 yen late Thursday. The euro slipped to $1.1690 from $1.1711 and the British pound dropped to $1.3063 from $1.3119.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gave up 10 cents to $50.69 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It added 81 cents to $50.79 on Thursday. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, gained 17 cents to $57.17 per barrel.
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