· World stock markets were little changed on Tuesday but still managed to touch a six-month high as investors took a breather following a three-day run of gains while the possibility of tightening supply kept oil prices on the rise .
· The benchmark S&P 500 stock index paused on Tuesday, taking a breather from Monday’s strong quarterly kickoff as a decline in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc weighed and economic data did little to ease growth concerns.
Walgreens shares slumped 12.8% after the drugstore chain cut its 2019 profit growth forecast and reported a quarterly profit that missed analyst estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.29 points, or 0.30%, to 26,179.13, the S&P 500 gained 0.05 points to 2,867.24, and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.78 points, or 0.25%, to 7,848.69.
· European shares hit their highest in half a year on Tuesday, buoyed by autos and insurance stocks and gains among export-heavy London stocks as Brexit uncertainty weakened the pound.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained for a third straight day, hitting 385.68 - its highest since late September. It later gave up some gains, but ended up 0.4 percent.
· Stocks in Asia were mixed in Wednesday morning trade following a tepid session overnight on Wall Street. Trade negotiations between the U.S. and China were also set to continue in Washington on Wednesday.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan was largely flat in early trade as shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing, Softbank Group and Fanuc were mixed. The Topix index slipped 0.21 percent.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi declined 0.19 percent as LG Chem saw its stock drop 1.48 percent.
Meanwhile, the ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.61 percent as almost all the sectors saw gains.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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