Asian Stocks End Mixed; Nikkei Falls 0.2%

Stocks in London, Frankfurt and Paris were posting gains within the first hour of trading.

U.S. stock index futures were higher, indicating stocks would rise at the open in New York Wednesday.

Wall Street stocks fell Tuesday amid disappointment about a decline in consumer confidence following big jumps in April and May, as measured by the Conference Board. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82.38, or 1%, to 8,447.00, while the S&P 500 index fell 7.91, or 0.9%, to 919.32. The Nasdaq composite index fell 9.02, or 0.5%, to 1,835.04.

After Thursday's U.S. jobs number, investors will be paying close attention in coming weeks to the second-quarter earnings reports from U.S. companies and their forecasts for the rest of the year.

Oil rose above $71 a barrel in Asia as a drop in U.S. crude inventories suggested demand may be picking up. Benchmark crude for August delivery rose $1.31 to $71.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 96.83 yen from 96.34, while the euro was trading at $1.4080.