Asian Stocks End Mixed; Europe Gains
Updated from 4:31 a.m. EST
NEW YORK (
) -- Asian stocks ended mixed Tuesday after Australia surprised the market by keeping interest rates steady, while European shares were trading higher after opening to the downside.
Shares of
BP
(BP) - Get Report
, Europe's largest oil company, were off by about 4% after reporting it swung to a
as oil and gas production rose. However, underlying replacement cost profit before items and accounting changes came in below expectations despite rising 70% to $4.4 billion.
London stocks rose 0.3%, shares in Frankfurt gained 0.6%, and the the CAC-40 in Paris edged higher by 0.6%.
The Nikkei 225 stock average in Tokyo rose 1.6% to 10,371.09, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished higher by 0.1%.
Australian shares rose 1.8% after the
held its key interest rate steady at 3.75%, surprising many forecasters who expected the central bank to boost rates by 0.25%.
The surprise move by Australia seemed to unnerve investors in other Asian markets who questioned the strength of the global recovery.
Shanghai's benchmark index lost 0.2% on continued concerns about China's actions to put the brakes on the country's growth.
Premarket futures in the U.S. suggested stocks would open higher on Wall Street Tuesday. U.S. stocks finished with gains Monday.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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