MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Asia and Europe markets advance; Wall Street Latam falter

Stock markets in Europe and much of Asia extended a rally overnight after a week of losses in global equities but Wall Street faltered as investors pulled back. European markets steamed ahead following on Asia's rebound although Tokyo and Hong Kong turned lower.

In New York on Wednesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.10% to 12,195.33 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite had shed 0.35% to reach 2,376.75 at 1630 GMT. But the rally limped ahead in Europe, where the London FTSE 100 index closed with a gain of 0.29% at 6,156.50. In Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.33% to 5,455.07 while in Frankfurt the Dax added 0.34% to end the day at 6,617.75. In Asia, most markets advanced. In Shanghai the composite index closed with a gain of 1.99% on Wednesday. After dipping in and out of the red, Tokyo closed down 0.47% on Wednesday and Hong Kong lost 0.73%. Following on Wall Street in Latinamerica most markets reacted slightly lower: Sao Paulo's Bovespa was 1.28% down at 42.667 which is 551 below last Monday; Argentina's Merval lost 0.48%; Chile 0.74% and Mexico's MVM 0.65%. Addressing a conference in Paris Japanese Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Hiroshi Watanabe said the recent slide in global equities had not done serious damage to the functioning of markets and "will not last." "The markets functioned well," said Watanbe, who was in the French capital as part of a European tour to promote Japanese government bonds. His remarks echoed those made earlier in the day by the Bank of Japan's deputy governor, who said the slump was the result of technical "position adjustments."