Thursday, October 25, 2012

Global shares end slightly up

US stocks eked out small gains on Thursday in another uninspiring session on Wall Street, with worries about weak business spending keeping investors wary.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.34 points, or 0.20 percent, to 13,103.68 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 4.22 points, or 0.30 percent, to finish at 1,412.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 4.42 points, or 0.15 percent, to end at 2,986.12.

European shares edged up after reassuring updates from drugmaker Sanofi and consumer goods group Unilever, although some traders said euro zone concerns would curb further gains.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 0.2 percent at 1,095.90 points. However, the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.3 percent to 2,483.43 points as financial stocks declined.

Japan's Nikkei average rose to a four-week closing high on Thursday, lifted by exporters as the yen weakened on growing expectations that the Bank of Japan would further ease monetary policy next week.

The Nikkei climbed 1.1 percent to 9,055.20, breaking above its 5-day moving average at 9,007.43 but faced resistance at the 200-day moving average at 9,056.05.

The benchmark had risen for seven straight sessions before easing yesterday, gaining 5.6 percent during its longest winning streak since July 2011. It is up 7.1 percent this year.

The broader Topix index gained 1.1 percent to 751.42 in relatively light trade, with 1.59 billion shares changing hands, down from Wednesday's 1.78 billion and last week's average of 1.77 billion.