TOKYO ? World stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors waited for European leaders to unveil a plan to tackle the continent's ongoing debt crisis.
European leaders have said they made progress at a weekend summit and plan to unveil comprehensive plans for containing the crisis by Wednesday.
Among measures, the 17-nation eurozone is set to shore up its bailout fund, and German lawmakers said the plan could boost the fund's lending capacity to more than euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion).
European stocks rose modestly in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was less than 0.1 percent higher at 5,550.49. Germany's DAX fell 0.4 percent higher at 6,033.09. France's CAC-40 slipped 0.5 percent to 3,204.59. Wall Street headed for a lower opening, with Dow Jones Industrial Futures up less than 0.1 percent to 11,819 and S&P 500 futures sliding less than 0.1 percent to 1,246.30.
Asian shares ended mostly higher after a skittish day of trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 0.9 percent lower at 8,762.31, with exporters struggling in the face of a strong yen. The dollar hovered near the 76-yen line, just above a new record low of 75.78 yen hit before the weekend.
Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan would take measures to slow the yen's acceleration if necessary, firing a shot at speculators who may be adding to the volatility.
The yen's sharp climb "does not reflect the real economy, and we have to believe that this is a speculative move," Azumi told reporters, according to Kyodo News agency. "If this goes further, then we will take decisive action."
His comments did little to stem selling in export-reliant sectors like high-tech and autos, which are now also struggling with lost production to the flooding in Thailand. Toyota Motor Corp. fell 1.7 percent, and Canon Inc. was down 1.8 percent.
Credit Suisse describes the eurozone as "inching forward" and that "there are as many questions as answers." But for any plan to be effective in the long term, it says, leaders must spur growth in Europe.
"At a minimum, we believe the crisis in the periphery will not end until there are current account surpluses... or clearly cheap currencies," the Credit Suisse report said. "We believe that the (European Central Bank) has to expand its balance sheet to weaken the euro and thereby create growth."
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5 percent to 1,888.65, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.1 percent to 18,968.20. Benchmarks in mainland China, India, Taiwan, Singapore, and New Zealand also advanced.
Thailand's SET index was 2.8 percent higher at 941.93, even though the country is being battered by its worst flood in decades. Ratings agency Moody's says it does not expect the floods ? the worst to hit Thailand in decades ? to affect its creditworthiness.
"The government will have ample fiscal space to absorb flood-related costs without prompting a permanent deterioration in its debt ratios," Moody's said in a report.
Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average finished with a gain of 104.83 points, or 0.9 percent, at 11,913.62.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose to 1,254.19, marking the highest close for the S&P 500 since Aug. 3, just as Washington was resolving a showdown over raising the country's borrowing limit.
In currencies, the dollar rose slightly to 76.12 yen from 76.07 yen late Monday in New York. The euro stood at $1.3909 from $1.3951.
Benchmark crude for December delivery was up $1.62 cents at $92.84 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $3.87, or 4.4 percent, to settle at $91.27 in New York on Monday.
Brent crude was down 2 cents at $111.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
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