Asian markets mixed, Europe down ahead of key data

[June 30, 2009]  BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian markets were mixed Tuesday and European shares opened lower as investors braced for economic reports that will train a spotlight on the vitality of a possible global economic recovery.

Oil powered above $73 a barrel to eight-month highs, boosting resource stocks, and the dollar fell against the yen.

Overnight gains on Wall Street underpinned sentiment in Asia, helping some of the region's markets to extend a massive rally that began in March on hopes the worst of the global recession has passed. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average clocked a 23 percent gain over the past three months -- its best quarterly performance since 1995.

Investors in Tokyo were largely unfazed by news that unemployment in Japan jumped to a 5 1/2-year high of 5.2 percent in May.

"The surging unemployment doesn't seem to have much impact on investors. The markets are following the overnight rise on Wall Street. In the U.S. it seems that investors are still optimistic," said Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong.

But he cautioned that Asian markets will find it difficult to continue rallying if a turn for the worse in U.S. economic data unsettles Wall Street.

Investors are awaiting major economic indicators this week, including the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey of business sentiment, Chinese manufacturing data and a key U.S. employment report.

"These results will set the stage for where stocks go from here," said Kenichi Hirano, equity general manager at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo.

European shares were lackluster in early trade, with benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France all down about 0.1 percent.

U.S. stock index futures were up slightly. Dow futures were up 18 points, or 0.2 percent, to 8,476, while S&P futures were up 2.2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 923.30.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 174.97 points, or 1.8 percent, to 9,958.44, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng reversed early gains to close down 149.78, or 0.8 percent, at 18,378.73. South Korea's Kospi inched up 0.1 percent to 1,390.07.

Elsewhere, Australia's benchmark rose 1.8 percent, Singapore's market gained 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai index dropped 0.5 percent and India's Sensex was down 1.4 percent.

Oil's rise above $73 a barrel boosted commodity stocks with global miner Rio Tinto jumping 3.8 percent in Sydney, China's largest oil refiner Sinopec advancing 1.1 percent in Hong Kong and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. soaring 7.2 percent in Tokyo.

The rise in crude also lifted Wall Street on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 90.99, or 1.1 percent, to 8,529.38. The S&P 500 index rose 8.33, or 0.9 percent, to 927.23, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.84, or 0.3 percent, to 1,844.06.

Benchmark crude oil for August delivery was up 67 cents to $72.15 a barrel by late afternoon Singapore time after trading as high as $73.38.

In currency trading, the dollar fell to 95.55 yen from 96.10 late Monday in New York and the euro gained to $1.4081 from $1.4078.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN WRIGHT]

Associated Press writer Tomoko A. Hosaka in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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