Shares mixed in thin New Year's Eve trading
TOKYO - Shares were mixed Tuesday in thin pre-holiday trading, with early gains in some markets succumbing to selling pressure as roller-coaster 2013 wound to a close.
The French and British markets, which
will trade for a half day on Tuesday, started on a positive note. The CAC-40
rose 0.2 percent to 4,284.83 and the FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent to
6,738.10.
Germany's DAX was closed for the
holiday.
Futures suggested potentially modest
New Year's Eve gains on Wall Street. Dow Jones futures rose 0.04 percent while
S&P 500 futures gained 0.03 percent.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index
gained 0.3 percent to close at 23,306.39 in a half-day session, buoyed by buying
of mainland China-based banks and energy companies. Shares in Shanghai and
Shenzhen also rebounded from early losses.
Elsewhere in Asia, share prices rose
in Malaysia, Singapore and India but fell in Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
Markets were closed in Japan and other
Asian markets for the New Year holiday.
The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock
index rose 0.7 percent Monday to end 2013 at its highest level in more than six
years, having gained 56.7 percent in 2013 - the biggest annual gain in 41
years.
In foreign exchange markets, the
dollar was virtually unchanged at 104.95 Japanese yen, while the euro slipped
0.08 percent to $1.379.
The price of crude oil dipped back
below $100, with the benchmark U.S. contract for February delivery down 10
cents at $99.19 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.