Asian market closed mixed on Wednesday, as concerns over the European debt situation continued to weigh on investors. The Nikkei skidded 2.2%, as Sony shares dropped 3.6% ahead of earnings. Korea’s Kospi slipped .6%, and the ASX 200 dropped 1.1%. China’s markets rallied, with the Shanghai Composite climbing 1.4%, and the Hang Seng rallying 1.9%.
European stocks rallied, aided by goodUSdata and the Fed’s remarks that it was prepared to take action to keep the economy growing. The DAX jumped 2.3%, the CAC40 climbed 1.4% and the FTSE advanced 1.2%.
In the US, the Dow rallied 178 points to 11836, the S&P 500 gained 1.6% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%. The Fed left interest rates unchanged, and cut its growth forecast to 1.6% for the coming year.
Dow Gains 178 Points
Currencies
The Dollar fell against other major currencies, as the market stabilized after Tuesday’s plunge. The Euro rose .5% to 1.3746 , and the Swiss Franc gained .6%, The Yen gained .4% to 78.07, the Australian Dollar rose .3% to 1.0341, and the Pound inched up .1% to 1.5952.
Economic Outlook
Wednesday’s ADP employment report showed a gain of 110K jobs last month, better than forecast, lifting hopes for Friday’s non-farm payroll report.
Thursday’s economic data will include weekly jobless claims, productivity, factory orders, ISM non-manufacturing index, and chain-store sales.