7:00AM Asian markets closed mixed. The Nikkei recovered.
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished mixed Wednesday as stock exchanges reversed from much of earlier gains amid renewed advance by the price of oil, following reports Israeli ground troops were moving into southern Lebanon. Investors also awaited comments by the Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as the June CPI data. The Nikkei ended up 0.4%, recovering from a month-long losing streak. Tech shares had a mixed performance, with Sony rising 1.1%, Advantest Corp, up 3.7%, while Softbank declined 3.7%. Automakers were among gaining stocks moving higher, led by Toyota Motor, up 0.9% and Mitsubishi Motors, up 0.5%. Across the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.33%, lifted by strong gains for oil companies, real estate and China shares. China''s largest publicly listed oil company, Petro China climbed 1.8%. Singapore Straits Times advanced 0.47%, South Korea’s Kospi ended flat, while Australia’s benchmark closed down 0.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite had the sharpest decline today, falling 2.2%.


European stocks moved to the upside at mid-day trading Wednesday, boosted by considerable strength in the technology sector. Tech stocks led advancers on well-received earnings news from ASML Holding. The Dutch semiconductor rose 3.6% after it revealed that its second-quarter net income rose a stronger-than-forecast 49% to 167 million euros on 23% sales growth. Anglo-Dutch IT services group LogicaCMG also contributed to the upward move, posting a gain of 2.7%. The German DAX 30 climbed 0.5%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.4%, and London FTSE 100 advanced 0.4%.