SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Global stock markets were mixed Friday with little economic news to move the final trading day of 2016.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 7,104.81. France's CAC 40 declined 0.2 percent to 4,830.33 and Germany's DAX was down 0.1 percent to 11,435.83. Futures augured a lackluster start on Wall Street. Dow futures advanced 0.2 percent and S&P futures also gained 0.2 percent.
ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent to 19,114.37 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1 percent to 22,000.56. China's Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.2 percent to close at 3,103.64. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6 percent to 5,665.80. Markets in Southeast Asia were higher. South Korean markets were closed for holiday.
ANALYST'S TAKE: "Wall Street can be seen repositioning toward the New Year and that could be the case for Asia as well amid moderate movements in major markets," said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG in Singapore. "Pressure may nevertheless set in for markets that have underperformed lately in Asia."
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude added 23 cents to $54.00 per barrel in New York. The contract fell 29 cents to close at $53.77 a barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 23 cents to $57.08 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar strengthened to 117.09 yen from 116.37 yen. The euro fell to $1.0511 from $1.0556.