Global stocks were mostly lower Wednesday, AP reported. France's CAC 40 fell nearly 0.1% in early trading to 21,469.18, while Germany's DAX was little changed but slightly lower at 12,427.90. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% to 7,558.30. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.1% at 27,366. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% to 3,012.40. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3% to finish at 21,469.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 6,673.30. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.9% to 2,072.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped nearly 0.1% to 28,593.17, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.2% to 2,931.69. Benchmark U.S. crude added 23 cents to $57.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.96 to $57.62 per barrel Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 41 cents to $64.76 a barrel. The dollar inched up to 108.26 Japanese yen from 108.24 late Tuesday. The euro was also little changed but rose to $1.1213 from $1.1211.
