Asian equity markets were mixed Tuesday, largely in line with downward trend set by the US and Europe. Japan’s Nikkei nudged 0.3 per cent higher in late morning trading , but both financial and technology stocks in the index were under pressure. Tech stocks were hurt by the stalled talks between IBM and Sun Microsystems, while CLSA analyst Mike Mayo’s bearish note on the US financial sector weighed on banks. Traders’ nerves were further rattled by reports that the International Monetary Fund would suggest toxic debts incurred by global banks and insurers could reach $4,000bn.
Asian markets (Tue)
04:05 BST
Nikkei up 26.52 (0.3%) at 8,884.45
Topix up 4.49 (0.5%) at 835.46
Hang Seng down 189.59 (-1.26%) at 14,808.45
US markets (Mon)
S&P500 down 7.02 (-0.83%) at 835.48
DJIA down 41.74 (-0.52%) at 7,975.85
Nasdaq down 15.16(-0.93%) at 1,606.71
European markets (Mon)
FTSE100 down 36.13 (-0.9%) at 3,993.54
Eurofirst 300 down 5.51 (-0.71%) at 766.09
Currencies
03:50 BST
€/$ 1.3360 (1.3446)
$/¥ 100.64 (99.78)
£/$ 1.468 ( 1.493)
Commodities
04:00 BST
Brent Crude (ICE) down $0.09 at $52.15
Light Crude (Nymex) down $0.01 at $51.04
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up $5.10 at $877.90
Copper (Comex) up $1.80 at $197.70
10-year government bond yields (%)
04:05 BST
US 2.90 (2.90)
UK 3.45 ( 3.40)
Germany 3.23 (3.25)
Japan 1.46 (1.44)
Sources: FT, Bloomberg