European stocks up while Asian markets, oil down
Source: AP-EXCITE
By YOUKYUNG LEE
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — European stocks rose on Wednesday and Wall Street was expected to edge higher on the open, despite losses in Asia. The price of oil continued to decline, however.
KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.9 percent to 6,511.89 and France's CAC 40 climbed 1.4 percent to 4,186.08. Germany's DAX rose 1.2 percent to 9,279.27. In the U.S., Dow futures rose 0.3 percent and S&P 500 futures gained 0.4 percent.
OIL SLUMP: Benchmark U.S. crude hit a fresh three-year low before edging back up slightly, to trade down 2 cents at $77.17 a barrel. The contract fell $1.59 on Tuesday. Oil prices have been in a slump since the summer and fell further Tuesday after Saudi Arabia decided to sell its oil at bargain prices to the U.S. in a bid to maintain its market share amid a boom in U.S. production.
THE QUOTE: "While there is certainly a lot of noise out there, I feel little has really changed and the key themes will remain a data dependent approach to Fed tightening expectations and what happens with the ECB and its easing measures," said IG strategist Stan Shamu. "While oil prices have been a talking point lately, following sharp declines, they could easily snap back and just as easily spike once the current driving forces are out of the way. As a result, I don't find this to be a huge investment threat."
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A man looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014. Asian stock markets mostly fell Wednesday as oil's fall to a three-year low weighed on energy companies and weaker European growth forecasts dampened sentiment. Japan's Nikkei 225 erased losses in the afternoon, finishing up 0.4 percent at 16,937.32. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
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