Most European markets are higher, despite a decline in resource stocks
It was a mostly lower finish in Asia today, as
oil prices resumed their slide and anticipation mounts that U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen could hint at a possible interest-rate hike in Friday's speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, following
yesterday's strong housing data. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng settled down 0.8% amid a drop in property stocks. South Korea's Kospi, meanwhile, shed 0.3%, while China's Shanghai Composite gave back 0.1%.
Elsewhere, Tokyo stocks managed to buck the regional bearish bias, as a cooling yen helped boost exporters -- including roughly 2% gains for automakers Toyota and Nissan. By the close, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.6%.
European benchmarks are mostly higher at midday, as a rally in media and financial shares offsets losses in energy and mining stocks, as well as a deadly earthquake in Italy. At last check, the French CAC 40 is up 0.6% and the German DAX is flirting with a 0.5% lead. London's FTSE 100, meanwhile, is down 0.07%.
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