The day began poorly in Hong Kong, with the volatile Hang Seng plunging 4.2 percent. But Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.3 percent and later-opening markets were off modestly or mixed: London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent in late trading, and Frankfurt's DAX closed 1.1 percent lower. On Wall Street, the Dow had fallen 21 points, to 7654, in mid-afternoon trading; the Nasdaq was off 1, to 1629.
Stocks Sluggish
The day began poorly in Hong Kong, with the volatile Hang Seng plunging 4.2 percent. But Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.3 percent and later-opening markets were off modestly or mixed: London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent in late trading, and Frankfurt's DAX closed 1.1 percent lower. On Wall Street, the Dow had fallen 21 points, to 7654, in mid-afternoon trading; the Nasdaq was off 1, to 1629.
