HONG KONG (AP) – World stock benchmarks were uneven Wednesday as Greek and EU officials tried once again to break the deadlock over Greece’s bailout terms. The yen jumped after Japan’s central bank chief said the currency’s slide had ended.
KEEPING SCORE: European stocks were mixed in early trading. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1 percent to 10,989.14 and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.2 percent to 4,842.69. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent to 6,759.24. U.S. stocks were poised to open higher, with Dow futures up 0.2 percent to 17,796.00. Broader S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 percent to 2,084.00.
GREEK TALKS: The prime minister is meeting in Brussels with the leaders of Germany and France in a bid to come up with a breakthrough in bailout talks that have revived fears his country could default and drop out of the euro. The Mediterranean country has three weeks to ink a deal to get creditors to release the final bailout funds before that program expires, but analysts are uncertain whether this latest meeting will produce anything new.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 122.86 yen from 124.38 yen. The yen jumped against the dollar after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, in response to a lawmaker’s question, said the currency is not likely to continue falling. The euro rose to 1.1348 from $1.129.
CHINA INDEX: Global stock-index compiler MSCI Inc. said it would not be including Chinese stocks in its global benchmarks until after a few issues related to market accessibility are resolved. Many investors had expected approval this week but the decision to put it on hold sent Shanghai shares slightly lower. The benchmark has surged in the past few days, driven by the expectation that inclusion in MSCI indexes would spur more capital into Chinese markets. Expectations of new economic stimulus measures in China have also boosted Chinese stocks.