Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed in early trade Wednesday, as market players found little encouragement from a meeting by European leaders to address the region’s debt woes.
During early Asian trade, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.24% to 20,212.08, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.8% 9,034.57, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, added 0.47%, and South Korea’s Kospi Index edged higher by 0.03% to 1,880.61.
Along with the Nikkei, the broader-based Topix Index of all issues listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.6% to 774.51.
Dealers were greeted at the start of the trading day, with news that little progress on Europe’s debt crisis had been made in Tuesday’s meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancelllor Angela Merkel.
The heads of Europe’s two largest economies failed to come to agreement on expanding a rescue fund for debt threatened euro-zone members, and instead vowed vigilance in supporting the euro as well as proposed the creation of a euro-zone council to coordinate belt-tightening among the 17 member nations.
Sarkozy and Merkel’s lack of movement on resolving European debt issues came on the heels of a European Union report that showed gross domestic product in the region rose by only 0.2% in the second quarter, just under the 0.3% expected from the market.
In a separate report, German GDP showed a mere 0.1% expansion in the second quarter, below forecasts of a 0.5% gain and considerably below the previous quarter’s growth of 1.3%.
Wall Street traders were equally unenthused by the results of the Paris meeting between Sarkozy and Merkel, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 0.67%, the Nasdaq Composite Index falling 1.24%, and the S&P 500 dipping 0.97%.
Financial issues in Tokyo were among losers in early trade with Matsui Securities Co. Ltd. down 1.1%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. off by 0.4%, and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. losing 0.9%.
Electronics giant Sony Corp. reported that it would be reducing prices for its PlayStation3 line of products in an effort to remain competitive in the market.
Sony Corp. added 0.47%.
In Sydney, shopping center operator Westfield Group announced profits for the first half of the year at AUD651 million, below market expectations. Westfield shares dropped 2%.
The outlook for European stocks was pessimistic. France’s CAC 40 futures was lower by 0.02% to 3,211.10, Britain’s FTSE 100 futures fell 0.24% to 5,309.40, while Germany’s DAX edged down 0.37% to 5,937.20.