BEIJING — Global stock markets were mixed Tuesday amid worries about weak Christmas sales in the United States and Europe and a warning by Japan's central bank about possible risks from the European debt crisis.
Tokyo lost 0.5 percent to 8,440.56 while China’s benchmark Shanghai index dropped nearly 1.1 percent to 2,166.21. Seoul, Taipei, Singapore and Jakarta declined. Hong Kong and Sydney were closed.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 opened up 0.3 percent at 3,111.37 while Germany’s DAX also gained 0.3 percent to 5,897.57.
Pessimistic Asian investors expect upcoming indicators including Chinese manufacturing and Christmas retail sales in key Western markets to be lackluster, said Peng Yunliang, a market strategist for Shanghai Securities.
"The markets expect these data will be no good," Peng said. "Some people think sales data from Christmas in the United States and Europe will not be as good as last year."
China’s government reported Tuesday that profit growth slowed at its major industrial companies. Total profit in the January-November period rose 24.4 percent over a year earlier, down 0.9 percent from the growth rate for the first 10 months of the year.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 declined after the Bank of Japan released notes that showed a Finance Ministry representative warning at a November meeting the world’s third-largest economy faces "significant downside risks" due to Europe’s debt problems.
Wall Street and European stock markets were closed Monday because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year.
Elsewhere in Asia, Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.8 percent to 1,842.02 while Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.1 percent to 7,085.03. Singapore’s benchmark was off 0.1 percent at 2,673.18. Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur also declined.
Chinese losses were led by media, information technology, food and travel-related companies.
Dairy shares fell after China’s biggest milk producer said Monday it destroyed a batch found to be contaminated with a potentially cancer-causing toxin. Zhejiang Beingmate Scientific Industrial Trade Co., an infant formula producer, lost 6.8 percent while Bright Dairy & Food Co. shed 4.1 percent.
Asian investors are closely watching Europe, whose debt crisis already has hurt demand for exports from China and other major producers.
In the last pre-holiday U.S. trading day on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average added 1 percent while the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.7 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.9 percent.
Benchmark crude for February delivery was down 14 cents at $99.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In currencies, the euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3065 while the dollar held steady at 77.91 yen.
