Asian shares mixed after slim Wall Street gains
The Associated Press, Tokyo | Thu, 08/19/2010 9:06 AM
Asian stock markets were mixed in early trading Thursday after a seesaw day on Wall Street that ended in slim gains.
Benchmarks around the region fluctuated in a tight range, with Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average up 0.4 percent to 9,281.53.
Gains were limited, however, as investors continued to monitor foreign exchange levels and weighed a possible meeting next week about the strong yen between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 1,770.07, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,464.5.
In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrials inched up 0.1 percent to 10,415.54 after investors found some positive news in retail earnings reports.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.2 percent to 1,094.16, and the Nasdaq composite index added 0.3 percent to 2,215.70.
In currencies, the dollar rose to 85.51 yen from 85.36 yen late Wednesday. The euro stood at $1.2811 from $1.2855.
