(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 225 17,288.75 -55.31 -0.32%

Shanghai Composite 2,450.99 -5.38 -0.22%

Topix 1,396.54 +1.66 +0.12%

FTSE 100 6,696.6 -12.53 -0.19%

CAC 40 4,266.19 +3.81 +0.09%

Xetra DAX 9,472.8 +16.27 +0.17%

S&P 500 2,048.72 -3.08 -0.15%

NASDAQ Composite 4,675.71 -26.73 -0.57%

Dow Jones 17,685.73 -2.09 -0.01%

Most stock indices closed higher ahead of FOMC minutes. Minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting will be released later in the day.

Eurozone's adjusted current account surplus climbed to €30.0 billion in September from €22.8 billion in August. August's figure was revised up from a surplus of €18.9 billion. Analysts had expected a surplus of €21.3 billion.

The Bank of England (BoE) released its last meeting minutes. The BoE kept its monetary policy unchanged. Two members, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale, voted for the fourth consecutive month to raise interest rates to 0.75% from 0.5%.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,696.6 -12.53 -0.19%

DAX 9,472.8 +16.27 +0.17%

CAC 40 4,266.19 +3.81 +0.09%

U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated as data showed housing starts fell in October before the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its policy meeting.

Global markets:

Nikkei 17,288.75 -55.31 -0.32%

Hang Seng 23,373.31 -155.86 -0.66%

Shanghai Composite 2,451.17 -5.20 -0.21%

FTSE 6,700.88 -8.25 -0.12%

CAC 4,279.8 +17.42 +0.41%

DAX 9,504.35 +47.82 +0.51%

Crude oil $74.91 (+0.40%)

Gold $1197.50 (+0.03%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

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Home Depot (HD) target raised from $105 to $108 at RBC Capital Mkts

European stock indices are trading little changed as investors await the Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes published later in the day at 19:00 GMT. Indices were boosted yesterday after ZEW data showed growing investor confidence and Mario Draghi's comments that the ECB's stimulus program might include government bonds. The FTSE 100 is trading slightly negative after the Bank of England minutes were published and the banks policy makers voted 7-2 to leave interest rates at a record low of 0.5%.

The FTSE 100 index is currently trading -0.09% at 6,702.81 points, Germany's DAX 30 is up +0.31% trading at 9,485.88 points and France's CAC 40 gained +0.14% currently quoted at 4,268.48 points.

European stocks are trading lower after yesterday's gains fuelled by good ZEW economic sentiment data. Weaker Asian Indices and mining stocks are weighing on the markets. The FTSE 100 index is currently trading lower at -0.27% at 6,690.92 points, Germany's DAX 30 is down by only -0.04% trading at 9,453.22 points and France's CAC 40 lost -0.19% currently quoted at 4,254.33 points. Markets are awaiting the release of minutes from the Bank of England scheduled for 09:30 GMT, the FED will release its minutes at 19:00 GMT.

The DOW Jones and S&P 500 were trading positive in Tuesday's trading session. The DOW Jones closed at 17,687.82, a plus of 0.23% and the S&P500 closed higher with a plus of +0.51% at 2,051.80 points - both indices reaching new highs on upbeat European economic sentiment and positive U.S. data.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost -0.69%, China's Shanghai Composite was down -0.21% closing at 2,451.17 points. Both indices lost after Monday being the first day of a new stock-exchange link between Shanghai and Hong Kong and investors continued to book profits.

Japan's Nikkei closed with a loss of -0.32% at 17,288.75 points reversing gains from early trading as investors took profits after Prime Minister Abe delayed the sales tax hike by 18 months and announced snap elections.