Global Shares Mixed

Global share indexes traded in narrow ranges Tuesday as geopolitical concerns, not least relating to developments in the Spanish region of Catalonia, kept sentiment in check, particularly in Madrid where the main index was down sharply.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1% to 12,963 while the CAC 40 of France was flat at 5,364. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 7,524. The big faller was Spain’s IBEX which was down 1.1% at 10,125. US stocks were poised for a flat opening with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.1%, AP reported.

Investors around the world are keeping a close watch in developments in Spain following last week’s disputed referendum in Catalonia. All eyes will be on Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who is due to make a pronouncement later.

The Catalan government has said the results of the referendum, showing a 90% victory for those favoring independence with a turnout of 43% of eligible voters, are valid. The Spanish government says the vote was illegal and is vowing to prevent independence from taking place.

“Once again, the Spanish IBEX is lagging behind its peers in Europe as speculation that Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont may be preparing to declare independence today continues to grow,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. “The uncertainty is weighing heavily on risk appetite but it currently only appears to be directly impacting Spanish assets, with the euro showing little or no sign of being negatively affected.”

The euro was up 0.4% at $1.178 while the dollar fell 0.2% to 112.43 yen.

Meanwhile, Asian markets meandered higher during the day, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 20,823.51, its highest close in over 21 years. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7% to 2,435.52 after a weeklong holiday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 0.6% to 28,490.83 while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was almost unchanged at 5,738.10. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3% to 3,382.99.

In India, benchmark Nifty rose for the third straight session to close above the 10,000-level but the gains were capped as investors hedged their bets ahead of the September quarter corporate results.

The NSE Nifty closed above 10,000 points for the first time since September 21, gaining 28.20 points, or 0.28% to 10,016.95 after shuttling between 10,034 and 10,002.30. It saw an intra-day movement of 31.70 points.