Global shares were mixed Wednesday, AP reported. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3% to 5,346.57. Germany's DAX dipped 0.3% to 11,710.38. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1% to 7,251.10. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.3% to 26,236, while S&P 500 futures were also down 0.3% at 2,923.50. Japan's Nikkei 225 added nearly 1.0% to finish at 20,655.13, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,595.90. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.7% to 1,938.37. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed but inched up less than 0.1% to 25,284.96. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4% to 2,808.91. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 65 cents to $56.45 a barrel. It rose $2.17, or 4%, to $57.10 per barrel Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 51 cents to $60.79. The dollar rose to 106.38 Japanese yen from 105.16 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1170 from $1.1217.
