Global Markets Mixed, but Most Hold On to Gains

Stock markets around the globe were mixed Friday in the absence of guidance from holiday-shuttered Wall Street.

Most major markets held on to gains made earlier in the week on optimism about an upturn in the world economy.

Key stock indexes rose marginally in Canada, Mexico, Italy and Spain, while the British, German and French markets eased.

Taiwan’s main share index surged 1.1% to 5,151.85, lifting its gain since June 2 to 9.8%. The South Korean market index rose 0.9% to 693.25. It is up 6.9% since June 2, more than three times the 1.9% gain in the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 index in the same period.

The rallies in Taiwan and South Korea have tracked a strong rebound in the Japanese market over the last month, amid fresh evidence that that economy is improving. On Friday, the Japanese government said the nation’s index of leading economic indicators rose to 44.4 in May from 30 in April.

Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei-225 share index was hit by mild profit taking Friday after rocketing early in the week. The Nikkei lost 77.07 points, or 0.8%, to 9,547.73 but still gained 4.9% for the week and is up nearly 12% since June 2.

Foreign stocks may have been hampered Friday after U.S. market indexes closed mostly lower Thursday following the government’s report that the unemployment rate rose to a nine-year high of 6.4% in June.

The damage to U.S. stocks was relatively limited. The Dow industrial average was off 72.63 points, or 0.8%, to 9,070.21, but it rose 0.9% for the week.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 15.27 points, or 0.9%, to 1,663.46 on Thursday but was up 2.4% for the week.

Government bond yields in Japan, Germany and Britain pulled back slightly Friday. They had moved up sharply over the last three weeks as bond investors reacted to signs of economic improvement.

The yield on Japan’s 10-year bond ended at 1.06% on Friday, down from 1.13% on Thursday.

The benchmark German 10-year bond yield was at 3.93%, down from 3.98% on Thursday.

German bonds were helped by a soft economic report: The government said orders to German factories, whose production accounts for about a fifth of Europe’s largest economy, fell 2.2% in May from April.

But the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Friday that its index of leading economic indicators for Europe rose to 119.3 in May from 118.7 in April.

German equity investors appear to be keeping faith with the idea of a rebounding economy: The blue-chip DAX index eased 0.1% to 3,239.61 on Friday and has traded in a narrow range for the last three weeks even as bond yields have jumped. The index is up 12% year to date, the same gain as the U.S. S&P; 500.

As in the United States, foreign stock markets face a barrage of second-quarter corporate earnings reports over the next few weeks. Investors are anxious to hear corporate executives’ forecasts for sales and profit in the second half.

In currency trading Friday, the euro traded at $1.149, little changed from its value in New York on Thursday. The euro has mostly been falling since late May after rallying against the dollar early in the year.

The Japanese yen was at 117.91 per dollar Friday. The yen has traded in a narrow range over the last month even as Japanese stocks have rallied. The yen’s strength may be limited by speculation that the Bank of Japan will sell its currency to keep it from appreciating because a stronger yen could limit Japanese exports.