7:15AM Asian stocks closed mostly higher despite interest rate concerns.
Asian markets closed mostly higher. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.64% to 14309.56. Among the gainers was supermarket chain operator, Aeon, advancing 3.7%, and insurance company T&D Holdings, soaring 6.13%. Nippon Steel gained 3.18%, while trading company Mitsubishi surged 3.22% and Internet-services company Softbank jumped 7.10%increase. The dollar''s recent strength versus the yen also boosted export, making it possible for companies such as Toyota Motor to advance 1.08%. Hong Kong shares closed slightly up due to bargain-hunting following a sharp fall in the previous session, but U.S. rate-increase worries kept to pressing down market sentiment. The Hang Seng Index advanced 0.09% to 15247.92 after losing 2.5% Tuesday. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange advanced 131.8 points, or 2.1%, to 6469.01. China Airlines increased 6.9%. Its rival EVA Airways added 6.7%. South Korea''s Kospi Index also recovered, advancing 1.48% at 1227.61 after ending at seven-month low Tuesday. The index bounced back on banks and technology shares, with Kookmin Bank, surging 5.4%, and Samsung Electronics, gaining 1.5%, leading the gainers.


6:15AM European stocks traded mixed in early session.
European shares were mixed in early trading. In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 9.5 points or 0.2% at 5,510.10, while the German Xetra Dax put up 3.1 points or 0.1% at 5,292.98. The French CAC 40 lost 5.2 points or 0.1% at 4,612.41. On the corporate front, EADS plummeted 29% after it announced delivery delays for the Airbus A380 superjumbo would cost €2bn in 2007. Singapore Airlines expressed disappointment at the delays and added it was talking to EADS about possible compensation. BAE Systems plunged 5.7% on concerns that EADS might try to renegotiate the price it has agreed to pay the UK company to buy its interest in the project. The fight for control of Schering is about to reach a climax today with German rivals Bayer and Merck vying for control of the German healthcare group. The battle has become more hostile after Bayer sued Merck in a US court late on Tuesday, stating that it had not properly disclosed a purchase of 2.1 million shares, taking it stake to 21.8 million shares. Schering traded 1.3% higher.

Light, sweet crude oil for July delivery advanced 34 cents to $68.90 a barrel. The contract dropped $1.80 to end at $68.56 a barrel on Tuesday. In London, July Brent crude futures advanced 29 cents to $67.21 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Gold bullion opened Wednesday at a bid price of $576.60 a troy ounce, higher than $576.30 late Tuesday. The dollar lost slightly against the euro. The European currency bought $1.2588 in morning European trading, up a little from $1.2541 in New York late Tuesday. The British pound also gained to $1.8422 from $1.8335. The dollar slipped against the Japanese currency, dropping to 114.87 yen from 115.27 yen.