Market Buzz: ECB and China fail to stir things up

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Published time: January 11, 2013 05:41
Edited time: January 11, 2013 09:41

Russian stocks are expected to open slightly higher on Friday amid driving oil prices, but mixed statistics from China would cap the indices.

­Russian indices showed mixed picture Thursday in low-volume trading with the MICEX shed 0.3% and the RTS itched 0.2%.

European stocks traded mixed Thursday as the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both left monetary policy unchanged, while successful debt auctions in Spain and Italy supported the indices. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3%. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% and Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.2%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.7% and Spain’s IBEX 35 index  rose 0.2%.

US stocks rose on Thursday after December exports data from China beat expectations, bolstering investor sentiment. The Dow Jones gained 0.6%, the S&P 500 added 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.

Asian stocks mostly moved lower Friday after data showed an increase in Chinese inflation. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.1%, erasing early gains of 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.5% consumer prices’ data slightly exceeded consensus estimates. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.5%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gave up 0.15%.But Japan’s Nikkei Stock added 1.5% supported by the tech sector and a weaker yen.