Asian Stocks Close Mixed Thursday
Updated from 1:11 a.m. EDT
Asian stock markets closed lower Thursday as global economic concerns remain despite the U.S. Senate's approval on Wednesday night of a revised rescue plan for the U.S. financial sector.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed down by 1.9% to 11,154.76. Auto stocks, such as
Toyota Motor
(TM) - Get Report
,
Honda Motor
(HMC) - Get Report
, and
Nissan Motor
, fell sharply. Toyota said Wednesday that car sales in September in the U.S. fell 29.5%, a greater-than-expected decline. U.S. auto sales overall in September continued their downward spiral as buyers struggled with both high gas prices and tightening credit conditions.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose more than 1%, helped by a rally in
Ping An Insurance
after
Fortis
scrapped an asset management deal with the Chinese insurer. Markets in Australia, China and South Korea fell.
The U.S. Senate voted 74-25 to approve legislation which authorizes the federal government to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets clogging bank balance sheets and freezing credit markets. Its passage comes just two days after the House of Representatives unexpectedly rejected an earlier version, sending stocks declining. The House is expected to again vote on the measure on Friday.
Stocks in Europe were trading higher. The FTSE 100 index in London rose 0.8%, while the DAX in Germany rose 0.4%.
Stock futures in the U.S. were mixed following Senate approval of the rescue plan.
S&P 500
futures were down 8.50 points to 1159.90, and were 4.89 points below fair value.
Nasdaq
futures rose 1.25 points to 1580, and were 5.34 points above fair value.
