Global Shares Mixed Tuesday
TOKYO (AP) -- Global shares were mixed Tuesday after a U.S. holiday. Investors were awaiting the release later in the day of minutes from the latest meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 gained 0.2 percent in early trading to 5,268.98, while Germany's DAX was up 0.3 percent to 12,423.10. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped edged less than 0.1 percent higher to 7,248.87. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures losing 0.4 percent to 25,136. S&P 500 futures were also down 0.3 percent at 2,725.80.
P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.0 percent to finish at 21,925.10. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was virtually unchanged, inching down to 5,940.90. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.1 percent to 2,415.12. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent at 30,873.63. Shares were mixed in Southeast Asia, while markets in mainland China were still closed for lunar new year holidays.
CENTRAL BANKS: Minutes are expected later Tuesday from the latest Federal Reserve meeting. Investors were also watching remarks in Japanese parliament from Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda. Kuroda was reappointed recently for another five-year term in a show of confidence in his ultra-easy monetary policy.
THE QUOTE: "The Fed's sequence of interest rate normalization should be the markets' key focus this week and the primary drivers of near-term volatility," says Stephen Innes, head of trading at OANDA.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 52 cents to $62.07 per barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 27 cents at $65.40 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The euro slipped to $1.2356 from $1.2408. The dollar rose to 107.08 yen from 106.57 yen.
(BE)