European indices open higher, showing signs of stability

By FXStreet A late stability in the Asian equity markets helped European markets to open higher with major indices recording gains of around 0.5%.

German’s DAX 30 opens up 0.5% at 10,090, while French CAC 40 inched 0.6% higher to 4,455. The broader index, Stoxx 600, which tracks 600 publicly-traded companies in 18 EU countries, opened flat at 342. UK markets are closed on Monday in observance of May Day.

Japanese market drag Asian markets lower

After an extended weekend, the Japanese market resumed trading on Monday and continued with its last week’s sell-off. The Japanese benchmark index, Nikkei 225, was down 3.6% at 16,060 level before recovering a bit to end with a cut of over 3.0%.

Japanese stocks are extending falls following the BOJ’s decision to keep its policies unchanged despite slowing inflation and previous expectations for a boost for its asset-purchase program, particularly in exchange-traded funds.

In other indices, Australia’s ASX 200 was 1.3% lower, New Zealand’s NZX-50 was down 0.2% and South Korea’s Kospi was 0.5% lower. Markets in China, Hong-Kong and Singapore were closed on Monday for national holidays.

Signs of stability

With the European markets showing some signs of stability, a further improvement in the market sentiment should now trigger …read more

Source:: FX Street