Global Stocks Mixed Wednesday

BEIJING (AP) -- Global stocks were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street recorded its biggest decline since August.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX rose 0.3 percent to 13,237.02 points and France's CAC 40 gained 0.3 percent to 5,488.78. London's FTSE 100 added 1 point to 7,586.98. On Tuesday, the FTSE 100 gave up 1.1 percent, the DAX lost 1 percent and the CAC 40 fell 0.9 percent. On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.35 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 percent to 3,480.83 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 23,098.29. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent to 32,887.27 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 0.25 percent to 6,037.70. Seoul's Kospi shed 1.3 points to 2,566.46 and India's Sensex lost 0.5 percent to 35,863.61. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and Bangkok rose while Singapore and Manila declined.

WALL STREET: Losses in health care and technology companies led U.S. stocks sharply lower. The slide erased some of the gains the market had racked up since the beginning of the year, though the market was still on track to close out January with a gain. The S&P fell 1.1 percent --- its steepest one-day drop since Aug. 17. The Dow had its biggest decline since May, losing 1.4 percent. The Nasdaq slumped 0.9 percent.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Markets are battening down the hatches ahead of a number of events that could influence thinking on bond yields and stock market valuations," said Ric Spooner of CMC Markets in a report. "In these circumstances, the gravitational pull of a steep departure from trend growth has produced the most significant decline in U.S. markets for some time."

CHINESE MANUFACTURING: A monthly survey showed January factory activity was lower than expected. The purchasing managers' index of the official China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing declined to 51.3 from December's 51.6 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity expanding.

JAPANESE MANUFACTURING: Official data showed factory output rose to a nine-year high in December, suggesting economic growth stayed strong. Industrial output rose 2.7 percent over November --- the third consecutive gain.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 30 cents to $64.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $1.06 on Tuesday to $64.50. Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 42 cents to $68.10 in London. It lost 68 cents in the previous session to $68.52.

CURRENCY: The dollar slipped to 108.72 yen from 108.78 yen. The euro advanced to $1.2438 from $1.2403.

(BE)