Stocks in Asia-Pacific and Europe on Tuesday

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on April 13, with South Korea leading major markets in the region. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.07% to 3,169.08.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.72% to end its trading day at 29,751.61. Moreover, the Topix index added 0.2% to close at 1,958.55.

Mainland Chinese stocks were also mixed on Tuesday. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.48% to 3,396.47. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen component gained 0.242% to 13,528.31.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.15% to finish its trading day at 28,497.25.

Shares of Alibaba listed in Hong Kong rose 0.43% on Tuesday, adding gains of more than 5% on April 12. Hong Kong-listed shares of chipmaker SMIC advanced 1.19%.

Tencent was not so lucky, as its shares dropped 0.9% and shares of Meituan fell 7.44%. The broader Hang Seng TECH index declined 1.6% to 8,038.81.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day slightly higher at 6,976.90.

On Monday, the S&P 500 ended its trading day a little changed at 4,127.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55.2 points to close at 33,745.40 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.36% on the day to 13,850. The muted moves on Wall Street came as investors waited for the release of inflation numbers due out on April 13.

European stocks and U.S. inflation data

European stocks moved higher on Tuesday, but the FTSE 100 lagged behind due to the U.S. inflation data.

The CAC 40 in Paris, as well as DAX in Frankfurt, were both up 0.3% just before lunchtime in Europe. Spain’s IBEX added 0.1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB was 0.6% higher.

Nevertheless, the FTSE 100 underperformed in London and was trading flat. The more domestic-focused FTSE 250 performed slightly better, rising 0.1%.

Just Eat Takeaway reached the top of the FTSE 100 after reporting its fourth consecutive quarter of order growth. JD Sports was not far behind the Just Eat Takeaway after the company predicted a big rebound in profits for the year ahead.

Babcock jumped to the top of the FTSE 250. The company jumped to the top after announcing a self-help plan. The company plans to cut 10,000 jobs as the company looks to streamline the business and also wants to improve performance. The defense giant plans to focus on aerospace and defense in the U.K, France, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. Babcock hopes to raise hundreds of millions of pounds by selling its non-core parts of the business.