Global Equities Mixed Ahead Of European Summit Equities

Asian markets traded mostly lower on Tuesday, as investor sentiment remained weak. The Nikkei sank.8% to 8664, the Kospi dropped .4% to 1818, and the ASX 200 fell 15 points to 4013. Markets in greater China outperformed, as the Hang Seng climbed .5% to 18982, while the Shanghai Composite eased 1% to 2221.

In Europe, the major indexes closed mixed, while Italian and Spanish debt yields continued to rise. The DAX inched up .1% to 6137, while the CAC40 fell .3% to 3013, and the FTSE eased .1% to 5447. Citigroup downgraded BMW, sending the stock down 2.3%, and weighing on auto makers.

US stocks managed a moderate gain following Monday’s slide. The Dow gained 32 points to 12535, the Nasdaq advanced .6% to 2854, and the S&P 500 climbed .5% to 1320.

New Corp surged 8.3% following a report in the Wall Street Journal which said the company may spin off its publishing division.

Zynga shares tanked 5% after announcing the “Zynga with Friends” network, which will allow users to connect outside of Facebook.

Apollo Group jumped 10.3% after reporting earnings which blew past analyst forecasts.

Currencies
The dollar traded mostly lower on Tuesday, with commodity currencies the primary beneficiaries. The Australian dollar climbed .6% to 1.0067, and the Canadian dollar gained .5% to 1.0238. The British pound rose .4% to 1.5642, and the yen ticked up .2% to 79.49. The euro and Swiss franc both slipped fractionally.

Economic Outlook
Tuesday’s economic reports were mostly negative. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index dropped to 62 from 64.4, more than expected. The Richmond manufacturing index unexpectedly tumbled to -3 from last month’s +4 reading. On the upside, home prices fell less than expected, slipping 1.9% year over year, besting forecasts for a 2.4% drop.