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Asia stocks mixed on U.S. data; Nikkei up 0.09%

Published 12/27/2011, 10:20 PM
Updated 12/27/2011, 10:24 PM

Investing.com - Asian stock markets opened mixed on Wednesday in thin trading as some investors found a weather vane in healthy U.S. consumer confidence data while others shrugged it off.

During morning Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.60%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 1.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.09%.

In the U.S., the Confidence Board reported that its consumer confidence index came to 64.5 in December, up from 55.2 in November and beating market forecasts for a 58.2 reading.

Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic output.

The news injected enough optimism in Asian equities markets to offset weak industrial output figures out of Japan, which dropped 2.6% in November, worse than market forecasts for a 0.7% drop.

Retail sales in Japan fell 2.3%, below forecasts for a 0.1% gain, while unemployment rates held steady at 4.5%.

Japanese core inflation rates came in better than expected, hitting -0.3% compared with forecast for -0.4%.

Hong Kong's leading losers included China Overseas, down 2.67%, China Shenhua, down 2.60%, and ICBC, down 2.26%.

In Australia, the top decliners included Resolute Mining, down 5.65%, St. Barbara Limited, down 4.41%, and OM Holdings, down 4.35%.

European stock futures indicated slight gains ahead.

France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.05%, while Germany ’s DAX 30 futures signaled a gain of 0.04%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a flat trading session.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.01% while the broader S&P 500 futures were down 0.02%.

Later Wednesday, Switzerland will release its leading indicators index, while in the U.S., the Mortgage Bankers Association will release its weekly mortgage applications numbers.

South Korea, meanwhile, will release its latest industrial production figures.




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