Market Buzz: Eyes on Eurozone’s rescue fund

Russian markets are likely will likely take their cues from reports expected later today on the Eurozone’s economic and manufacturing growth.

Russian markets closed in a positive territory Monday, despite a slight global downturn. The MICEX rose 0.75% and the RTS added 0.7%.European stock markets took a dive Monday amid reports that a new lawsuit against the European Stability Mechanism may delay the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the proposed rescue fund. Losses in Asian markets also weighed down indices. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% and Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.5%. Italian banks saw some gains after the country’s Treasury sold off 8 billion Euros in government debt. Data on Germany’s GDP and the EU’s GDP will be issued later today.US trades closed slightly lower, after Monday’s light volume investors focused on weak Japanese economic data. The Dow Jones closed down 0.3%, the S&P 500 shed 0.1% and the Nasdaq lost 0.1% by the end of the day. Asian stocks saw some gains Tuesday, boosted by power companies and some steel manufacturers. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.7% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.25%. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.35% as Nippon Steel Corp. rallied after signing an alliance deal with Australia’s BlueScope Steel. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.25% and the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%.