Europe Mixed; Asian Stocks Mostly Lower
Updated from 4:31 a.m. EST
NEW YORK (
) -- Stocks in Asia ended mostly lower Wednesday as consumer confidence figures released Tuesday in the U.S. forced investors to question the strength of the U.S. recovery.
European shares were mixed, with stocks in London up slightly by 0.2%.
U.S. stocks ended down Tuesday after the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 46 in February -- the lowest level in 10 months. The Conference Board revised January's level upward to 56.5.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 101 points, or 1%, to 10,282, the
declined 13 points, or 1.2%, to 1095, and
Nasdaq
declined 29 points, or 1.3%, at 2213, on the weak consumer confidence reading.
Premarket futures suggest a lower open on Wall Street Wednesday.
In Tokyo Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 1.5% to 10,198.83. This came despite a report that saw Japan's exports increase more than 40% last month from a year earlier.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.8%. Shares in China, however, rose 1.2%.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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