US indices finished mixed on Wednesday following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Stocks rose in the morning following a government report that showed durable goods orders rose 1.8% in May, against expectations for a fall. But stocks fell back after the Fed's announcement. Although the rate decision was as expected, the central bank said nothing about expanding its $300 billion debt buyback program that is meant to keep long term rates from spiking, disappointing investors.
The Dow Jones fell 23.05 points to close at 8,299.86 while the S&P 500 added 5.84 points to end at 900.94. The Nasdaq gained 27.42 to finish at 1,792.34.
Boeing was again the heaviest weight on the Dow, losing 5.8% and knocking almost 20 points off the blue chip index. The further delay in the production of its 787 Dreamliner caused broker Oppenheimer to downgrade the stock to Underperform from Perform and cut its share price estimate to $40 from $42.
Oracle helped tech stocks higher and the Nasdaq higher after reporting its quarterly results late Tuesday. Record profit margins and a better than expected forecast pushed shares 7% higher.
US light crude oil for August delivery slipped $0.57 to $68.67 a barrel.
COMEX gold for August delivery gained $10.10 to $934.40 an ounce.
Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the 10 year note to 3.68% from 3.63%.
The Nikkei rose 205.76 points to close at 9,796.08 this morning as investors reacted to the economic data from the US. Mitsubishi Corp gained 4.4% after metal prices jumped the most in three months while Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank both soared 11% after confirming they are in talks to merge.
The Hang Seng is currently 359.35 points higher 18,251.50. Property companies lead the way amid signs the real estate market is recovering as the outlook for global growth improves. Sun Hung Kai Properties added 4.8% after the Standard newspaper said the developer is raising prices at its Sky One project.
The FTSE 100 is currently 11.05 points lower at 4,268.93. Lonmin tops the fallers, down 2.4%, after saying it has shut down a South African furnace for repairs. It is suggested that the miner may ask third parties to process the ore it mines in the interim. BP is in focus after saying Ericsson CEO Carl-Henris Svanberg will replace Peter Sutherland as its chairman from 1 January 2010. Also, Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina has agreed to buy BP's stake in an offshore oil and gas block in West Java for $280 million.
On the upside, Royal Bank of Scotland gains 3.4% after Cazenove upgraded the stock to Outperform. Standard Life benefits from an upgrade from Bank of America, pushing shares 2.5% higher.