The bull market is back in Shanghai, while the Bank of England kicked the can on a possible rate hike
It was a mixed finish for Asian stocks today, with Chinese markets outperforming. A
second straight day of gains on the mainland pushed the Shanghai Composite -- up 1.8% on the day -- back into bull-market territory, with the index now more than 20% above its August low point. That development spurred buying interest in brokerages, particularly amid revived talk of a Shenzhen-Hong Kong exchange. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's Wednesday remarks about a
December rate hike kept most other regional markets under pressure, though Japan's Nikkei added 1% as the dollar advanced on the yen. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.01% lower, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2%.
Most of Europe is trading higher at midday -- despite a downbeat report on German manufacturing, weakness in commodity stocks, and a mixed growth forecast from the European Union (EU). Instead, traders are keying on big post-earnings pops from the likes of Societe Generale and Adidas. However, London is battling the breakeven line, after the Bank of England (BOE) cited a weakening global growth outlook as the impetus behind today's surprisingly dovish policy statement. At last check, the French CAC 40 and German DAX are both about 1.1% higher, while London's FTSE 100 is fractionally in the red.
