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European Markets Make Gains Despite Political Upheaval, Pandemic

VOA News

   European markets are mostly higher Thursday in spite of the uncertainty
   over the last-ditch Brexit talks, the ejection of some Chinese stocks
   from the S&P Dow Jones' indices and the rising surge of new COVID-19
   infections in many nations.
   Britain's benchmark FTSE index is 0.7% higher at midday. The CAC-40 in
   Paris is up 0.3%, and the DAX index in Frankfurt remains unchanged.
   Asian markets finished lower across the board Thursday. The Nikkei
   index in Japan dropped 0.2%. Australia's S&P/ASX index lost 0.6%. Hong
   Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.4%. The KOSPI index in South Korea
   fell 0.3%, while Taiwan's TSEC index plunged 0.9% and Mumbai's Sensex
   index lost 0.3%.
   Shanghai's Composite index gained 1.31 points, but is unchanged in
   percentage terms (0.04%).
   In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,840.60 an ounce, up 0.1%.
   U.S. crude oil is selling at $46.15 per barrel, up 1.3%, and Brent
   crude has soared to 1.5% selling at $49.61 per barrel.
   All three major U.S. indices are mixed in futures trading ahead of
   Thursday's opening bell.

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