World shares mixed amid worries about Middle East
BANGKOK (AP) - World stock markets were mixed Monday, with investor on edge as political unrest in the Arab world spread to OPEC member Libya while oil stocks helped some benchmarks advance. Crude prices jumped above $88 a barrel amid investor concern that the violent protests rocking Libya could disrupt its oil supplies. In currencies, the dollar weakened against the yen and the euro. European bourses slumped, then rebounded, in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent to 6,104.37. Germany’s DAX was up 0.1 percent to 7,435.90 while the CAC-40 in Paris fell 0.1percent to 4,153.15. Markets in the U.S. are closed for a holiday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.1 percent to 10,857.53 with the index enjoying a six-day winning streak to close at a 10-month high. Inpex, Japan’s largest energy explorer, gained 1.7 percent - in line with higher oil prices and investors leaning toward commodities over equities during times of uncertainty.
Sentiment was tempered, though, by a move Friday by China to control inflation. Beijing ordered its banks to hold back more money as reserves, raising the required level by 0.5 percent of deposits. Reserves vary by institution but are about 20 percent for China’s biggest state-owned lenders.