HONG KONG (AP) — World stock markets were mixed Tuesday as a rebound in Asia a day after news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death faded and European shares opened lower on debt crisis worries.
Benchmark oil rose above $94 while the dollar weakened against the euro and yen.
In early European trading, the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies was down 0.5 percent at 5,335.07 and Germany's DAX dropped 0.4 percent to 5,648.03. France's CAC 40 index shed 0.4 percent to 2.961.07.
European markets were having a delayed reaction to news after trading closed Monday that European Union finance ministers raised only three–quarters of the euro200 billion ($261 billion) that they wanted to provide the International Monetary Fund to help heavily indebted nations avoid default.
Countries that use the euro are hoping the extra IMF loans — meant to be channeled into a special fund that will invest alongside Europe's own bailout fund — will encourage non–European countries to provide support for Europe via the IMF.
Wall Street was poised to open higher. Dow futures were up 0.4 percent at 11,755 while broader S&P 500 futures were up 0.5 percent at 1,205.70.
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi led regional gains, rising 0.9 percent to close at 1,793.06 a day after tumbling 3.4 percent on news of Kim's death.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.5 percent to end at 8,336.48 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up less than 0.1 percent to 18,080.20. In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.1 percent to close at 2,215.93 after gaining as much as 1 percent earlier, and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 909.02.
Benchmarks in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore also declined.
Investors in Asia were initially relieved that Kim's death from a heart attack had not triggered an immediate crisis over a leadership succession in the isolated nation known to be pursuing nuclear weapons.
North Korea's neighbors worry that internal political maneuvering could spill over into missile launches or other aggression, though analysts give such acts a low probability.
"Common sense returned to the market today. Of course the death of the leader of North Korea had no direct bearing on the stock market," said Francis Lun, managing director Lyncean Holdings.
With trading light ahead of the Christmas holidays and a lack of major news to move the markets, "basically investors are sitting on the sidelines doing nothing," Lun said.
Australia's central bank added to investors' doubts after it said Europe's sovereign debt and banking problems "would weigh heavily on economic activity" and "there was a non–trivial possibility of a sharp contraction."
Reserve Bank of Australia members "members concluded that growth in the world economy was likely to weaken over the coming year," according to minutes of a policy meeting held Dec. 6 that were released Tuesday.
Hang Ten Group Holdings Ltd. surged 56 percent in Hong Kong after the casual clothing retailer said it received a buyout offer worth 2.65 billion Hong Kong dollars ($340 million) from Li & Fung Retailing Ltd.
In China, shares in cement and paper processing led the gains while shares in media and environmental companies weakened. Fujian Cement Inc. gained 5.2 percent while Anhui Conch, China's biggest cement maker, added 1.9 percent.
In currencies, the euro strengthened to $1.3032 from $1.3017 late Monday in New York. The dollar weakened to 77.91 Japanese yen from 77.95 yen.
Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 45 cents at $94.33 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 35 cents to settle at $93.88 per barrel on Monday.
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Researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this story.
