US stocks were little changed today, with technicals in focus and scant key items on the US economic calendar, following yet another record close on the benchmark S&P 500 index.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.57 points or 0.03 percent, to 16,669.93, the S&P 500 gained 0.73 points or 0.04 percent, to 1,912.64 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.46 points or 0.01 percent, to 4,237.53.
In turn, Portuguese shares outperformed mostly flat European equities, bolstered by reassuring signs from the country’s largest listed banks.
Most other major European indexes hovered close to multi-year highs, with falls in fashion brand Hugo Boss and consumer group Ahold keeping the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 in check.
Lisbon’s PSI 20 index, however, rose 1.7 percent, with the country’s No 2. bank Millennium bcp up 3.5 percent after announcing it had repaid state loans held in contingent convertible bonds (CoCos).
The move, which had to be approved by the Portuguese central bank, was interpreted as a sign of confidence on the bank’s health ahead of the European Central Bank’s asset quality review (AQR).
The broader FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was off 0.1 percent at 1,377.67 points, after hitting its highest level in more than six years on Tuesday.
The index has been supported by an improvement in economic data from the United States and expectations for more policy easing by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks rose for a fifth day as strong US data buoyed market sentiment, but Mitsui Fudosan Co fell on news it would raise as much as $3.6 billion by issuing new shares.
The benchmark Nikkei average ended 0.2 percent higher to 14,670.95. The broader Topix added 0.3 percent to 1,198.17, while the new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.2 percent to 10,926.66.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald