Stocks in Asia and Europe were unable to sustain Tuesday's rally, as the yen strengthened and oil prices wavered
It was a slow day in Asian markets, as stocks ended a day of choppy trading mixed. One of the few relatively bright spots was Japan's Nikkei, which edged 0.1% higher. However, the index erased earlier gains as a
strengthening yen hurt exporters -- including Toyota, which forecast a 35% drop in net income due to the currency.
China's Shanghai Composite also managed a win, picking up 0.2%, despite metal stocks giving up ground. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9% as financial stocks weighed, and South Korea's Kospi ended 0.1% lower.
Stocks in Europe are also lower at midday. In addition to Asia's weakness, wavering oil prices are sapping trader sentiment, as are weaker-than-expected manufacturing data out of the U.K. and poorly received corporate earnings. Mining stocks, on the other hand, continue to outperform. France's CAC 40 was suffering the most at last check, dropping 0.9%, followed by a 0.8% drop in Germany's DAX. London's FTSE 100 was last seen 0.2% lower, as well.
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