World Markets Mixed, With Eyes on Eurozone Data

World markets are mixed Tuesday ahead of key economic releases from the 19-country eurozone, which has come to an agreement with the U.S. on holding off on new tariffs.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent in early trading to 7,709.97 while Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 percent to 12,767.07. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.2 percent to 5,482.26. Wall Street was set for a subdued open, with Dow futures slipping less than 0.1 percent to 25,279.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1 percent to 2,805.70.

Markets were mostly higher after the Bank of Japan largely maintained the status quo while allowing some flexibility to achieve yield targets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose less than 0.1 percent to 22,553.72 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.1 percent to 2,295.26. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.3 percent to 2,876.40. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bucked the regional trend, falling 0.5 percent to 28,583.01. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 added less than 0.1 percent to 6,280.20. Shares fell in Indonesia but were higher in Taiwan and Singapore.

In a widely watched statement, the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady as expected. It maintained its target for the 10-year government bond yield at around zero percent and that for short-term interest rates at minus 0.1 percent. The bank said yields will be allowed to move up or down “to some extent mainly depending on developments in economic activity and prices.” Sustained relatively strong growth had raised expectations that the central bank may need to consider further tempering its massive purchases of government bonds and other assets.

Investors are also watching monetary policy meetings in the U.S. and U.K. The Bank of England is expected to nudge up its key interest rate by a quarter point on Thursday despite uncertainty around Brexit as inflation remains high.

Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 40 cents to $69.73 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 2.1 percent to settle at $70.13 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 35 cents to $75.20.

The dollar rose to 111.44 yen from 111.00. The euro ticked up to $1.1721 from $1.1710.