Investors monitor share prices at a brokerage house in Beijing, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. Shares were mixed in Asia early Wednesday after U.S. stocks finished broadly higher on Wall Street, erasing modest losses from a day earlier. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
BANGKOK – Shares were mixed in Europe and Asia on Wednesday as British lawmakers sought to end an impasse following the overwhelming defeat of Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed plan for leaving the European Union.
With relations between the United Kingdom and the European bloc in chaos, the FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 7,208.34 while Germany’s DAX was flat at 11,422.47.
The CAC 40 in France edged 0.1 percent lower to 5,304.49.
Wall Street looked set for gains, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1 percent at 25,696.00.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 future also rose 0.1 percent to 2,826.90.
Shares in China rose ahead of the resumption of trade talks with the U.S. on Thursday in Beijing. Uncertainty remains over how the U.S. and China will resolve their costly trade dispute.
The Shanghai Composite jumped 0.9 percent to 3,022.72 in a late-in-the-day rally.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.6 percent to 28,728.25.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2 percent to close at 21,378.73.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 edged 0.1 percent higher to 6,136.00.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2 percent to 2,145.62 and the Sensex in India slipped 0.2 percent to 38,162.10.
Shares fell in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
ENERGY: U.S. benchmark crude fell 9 cents to $59.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained $1.12 Tuesday to $59.94 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 7 cents to $67.50 per barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 110.56 Japanese yen from 110.63 yen on Tuesday. The euro rose $1.1281 from $1.1266. /gsg