Taipei - Taiwan stocks fell nea

Indian equities opened the day sluggishly following negative global signals.

Among the prominent losers this morning, realty, banking, metal and oil & gas stocks topped the list with sharp losses.

Auto, power, PSU, information technology, telecom, pharma and FMCG stocks were also down.

Mirroring heavy selling action, all the sectoral indices were trading in the red zone with heavy losses.

Tokyo  - Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell below 8,000 to end morning trading Tuesday as concerns over the European economy spread.

The Nikkei index dropped 257.83 points, or 3.12 per cent, to 7,999.02.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues was down 19.67 points, or 2.41 per cent, to 798.06.

On the currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 90.63-66 yen, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 90.62-63 yen.

Bo

Tokyo - Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average ended slightly higher in a mixed day of trading Monday on the back of Wall Street's rise before the weekend and a weaker yen.

But the Tokyo market lost momentum in the afternoon session in a wait-and-see mood ahead of Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as the US president.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged up 26.7 points, or 0.32 per cent, to close at 8,256.85.

But the broader Topix index of all First Section issues dipped 0.16 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 817.73.

Indian equities belled the week on a positive note in line with global peers.

Metal, oil and select capital goods, power segments edged higher this morning, while realty, pharma and IT went down.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index gained 0.78% and 0.76% respectively as a host of stocks from these segments climbed on keen buying enquiries.

Asian stocks also gained led by higher commodity prices. US plans to shore up the world’s largest economy, a weaker yen boosted the positive sentiments.