KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Global markets were mixed Thursday in quiet trading on the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., with Japanese stocks buoyed by a lower yen.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 was almost flat at 6,817.71 in early trading after a government report indicated that the government’s borrowing needs may be larger than expected over the next five years. Germany’s DAX gained 0.2 percent to 10,688.47 and France’s CAC 40 was also up 0.2 percent at 4,538.58.
WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes again set records Wednesday in pre-holiday trading. Machinery and equipment makers climbed but technology companies fell. U.S. markets were closed Thursday and will close early on Friday.
ANALYST’S TAKE: “Volumes have been poor through U.S. equity markets and that’s hardly a surprise given the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday but the juggernaut that is the bull market continues, albeit slowly,” Chris Weston of IG said in a report. He said the Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks, where the real momentum is, gained for the 14th day in a row. Weston said the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to go ahead with an interest rate hike in December, especially after the release of a slew of strong economic data. Mizuho Bank in Singapore said the strong dollar continued to be the dominant theme, putting most currencies under selling pressure.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.9 percent to 18,333.41. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 and Shanghai Composite Index were flat at 5,485.10 and 3,241.74 respectively. Seoul’s Kospi lost 0.8 percent to 1,971.26 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3 percent to 22,608.49. Benchmarks in New Zealand and Singapore rose but Taiwan, India and Indonesia retreated.