Asian stock markets were modestly higher on the last trading day for 2011 on Friday, helped by an encouraging rise on Wall Street, but a cautious air prevailed after a tough year that's left many investors nursing big losses.
Stock Market Futures 12/30/11 Dow Jones, NASDAQ, S&P Futures:S & P 500 Futures 1.50, NASDAQ Composite Index Futures 1.50, Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures 25 Oil Futures 99.53
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI +0.36% put on 0.3%, and China’s Shanghai Composite CN:000001 +0.82% added 0.5% in early moves.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK +0.36% gained 0.4%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO -0.36% traded flat in a shortened trading day ahead of the New Year holiday.
South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
After Italy's mixed debt auction on Thursday briefly sent the euro to 15-month lows against the U.S. dollar, demand for equities remained tentative due to the still unresolved European debt crisis. Activity was subdued in the region amid holiday-thinned trade, with investors buying into some of the recently beaten-down stocks, or selling out for the flexibility of cash heading into 2012.
Stock Market Futures 12/30/11 Dow Jones, NASDAQ, S&P Futures:S & P 500 Futures 1.50, NASDAQ Composite Index Futures 1.50, Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures 25 Oil Futures 99.53
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI +0.36% put on 0.3%, and China’s Shanghai Composite CN:000001 +0.82% added 0.5% in early moves.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK +0.36% gained 0.4%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO -0.36% traded flat in a shortened trading day ahead of the New Year holiday.
South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.
After Italy's mixed debt auction on Thursday briefly sent the euro to 15-month lows against the U.S. dollar, demand for equities remained tentative due to the still unresolved European debt crisis. Activity was subdued in the region amid holiday-thinned trade, with investors buying into some of the recently beaten-down stocks, or selling out for the flexibility of cash heading into 2012.
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