Global markets are mostly lower Monday as investors await news from Brussels where European Union leaders are negotiating details of a pandemic economic rescue package. In Asia, markets were mixed. The Nikkei gained 21 points, but was virtually unchanged percentage-wise. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is down 0.3% in late afternoon trading, while the Shanghai Composite index is up 3.1%. Sydney’s S&P/ASX index is down 0.5%, the KOSPI index in Seoul is trading 0.1% lower, and Taiwan’s TSEC lost seven points, but was virtually unchanged percentage-wise. Mumbai’s Sensex was up 0.6% in late afternoon trading. Europe is also off to a slow start, with London’s FTSE index 0.8% lower, the CAC-40 in Paris down 0.7%, and the DAX index in Frankfurt down 0.4%. In oil trading, U.S. crude oil is selling at $40.20 per barrel, down 0.9%, and Brent crude oil is down at $42.75 per barrel, also down 0.9%. And all three major U.S. indexes are trending downward in futures trading.
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