8:15 AM European averages lost ground at mid-day.
European markets lost ground at mid-day dealings. The Italian MIB-30 stock exchange erased most of yesterday’s gains, falling sharply down to 0.9% on uncertainty over the result of the weekend’s leadership election. The German DAX 30 dropped 0.7% on disappointing economic data, the French CAC 40 fell 0.5%, while London FTSE erased earlier gains to trade down 0.1% as mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton declined on falling commodity prices. However, oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell and BP limited decline, making gains on surging oil prices over $69 a barrel.


7:45AM Asia closed mostly down.
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished mostly in the negative, reflecting general weakness among technology and semiconductor stocks. The Nikkei moved lower for a second day in a row on investor cautiousness ahead of the new stream of earnings reports and news that BOJ decided to leave benchmark interest rate at zero percent. Among losers, chip-related stocks Advantest dropped 2.8%, Elpida Memory fell 3.6%, and Kyocera lost 0.6%. Banking and retail shares were also among notable decliners. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.9%, awaiting quarterly corporate results. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell off recent highs on profit taking after a five-session rally. The index lost 0.3% as strength among automakers limited losses. Australia’s All Ordinaries surged to 0.8%, lifted by strong mining stocks.