Traders in Asia and Europe are eagerly awaiting Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments, hoping to pick up rate-hike hints
Asian stocks ended the day mixed ahead of today's
speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, which they'll be scouring for rate-hike clues. Falling oil prices also put pressure on energy stocks. In terms of specific indexes, China's Shanghai Composite plunged 1.3% on a stronger yuan. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.2%, as an uptick in unemployment and disappointing retail sales offset a surprise increase in consumer spending. Also, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to speed the implementation of a recently approved budget to help the economy. Rounding things out, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.
European markets are also trading mixed after the long Easter weekend, with mining stocks struggling after a bearish note from Barclays. However, travel stocks have largely shrugged off the hijacking of an EgyptAir flight, which ended in the alleged hijacker's arrest. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.1% and the German DAX has edged 0.01% lower, while France's CAC 40 has picked up 0.4%.
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