Asian markets shrugged off the late-day rally in US stocks, once again closing lower. The Nikkei fell .9% to 8383, and the Kospi sank 2.3%, as construction firms dropped sharply. Australia’s ASX 200 bucked the trend, closing up 1.4% as resource stocks rallied. Markets in greater China were closed for a holiday.
In Europe, the major indexes posted impressive gains, snapping a 3-day losing streak. The DAX soared 4.9%, the CAC40 advanced 4.3%, and the FTSE climbed 3.2%. The Euro Stoxx banks index jumped 5.7% after policymakers committed to take greater efforts to recapitalize the region’s struggling banks.
US markets overcame initial weakness, closing with significant gains. The Nasdaq posted the largest gain, climbing 2.3%, while the Dow rose 131 points to 10940. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% to 1144.
Two exciting tech takeover possibilities boosted tech shares. Research in Motion jumped 12.4% on rumors that Vodafone may look to buy the Blackberry maker. Yahoo soared 10.1% on news that Microsoft is considering a takeover offer.
Costco fell 1.7% after reporting weaker than expected earnings, and Yum Brands slid 2.7% over growth concerns, even as it met analyst profit estimates.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar staged an impressive comeback after Tuesday’s drop, surging 2.6% to .9654, signaling a return to “risk on” mode. Its peer, the Canadian Dollar rallied 1.1% to 1.0406. The Euro, Pound, and Yen all settled within .1% of their previous close, while the Swiss Franc slipped .6% to 1.0829 against the Dollar.
Economic Outlook
The ADP payroll report showed the economy gained 91K jobs last month, better than the 76K forecast. The official government non-farm payroll report is due on Friday, and the ADP report is seen as an indicator for that key report, although they are not always consistent.
ISM non-manufacturing PMI was in-line with estimates at 53, slightly lower than last month.
The Bank of England and European Central Bank will announce their rate decisions on Thursday. Both are expected to leave rates unchanged at .5% and 1.5% respectively.