Global stocks mostly up on Tokyo stimulus

Global stocks mostly rose Wednesday as Tokyo launched a massive fiscal stimulus package and the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates low. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled the 28 trillion yen ($266 billion) program in the Japanese government's latest attempt to fire up the lukewarm economy. Abe gave few details, except to say about half the total would be fiscal measures including government spending. Analysts warned the Nikkei, which rose 1.7 percent, could retreat if monetary stimulus measures released at Friday's Bank of Japan meeting disappoint. The Fed left key interest rates untouched Wednesday but acknowledged improved economic performance and expressed less anxiety about the impact of the surprise British vote to leave the European Union. Still, some analysts expressed skepticism the US central bank would lift rates before December. BBVA said an earlier rate hike was unlikely in light of "the unshakeable uncertainty of 2016, the complicated and delicate task of realigning expectation to policy normalization and the proximity to the November election." The Dow and S&P 500 finished little changed, but the tech-rich Nasdaq advanced 0.6 percent after tech behemoth Apple surged 6.5 percent following better than expected earnings. Shanghai lost 1.9 percent following a report that China’s banking regulator was considering clamping down on the nation's multi-trillion-dollar wealth management products market. - European stocks rise - Analysts cited the Japanese stimulus as supportive of European markets. Frankfurt stocks advanced 0.7 percent and Paris was 1.2 percent up. London stocks closed slightly higher, as data showed the British economy grew by 0.6 percent in the second quarter, after 0.4 percent expansion in the previous three months, despite Brexit fears. The French market was also buoyed by solid earnings from aerospace giant Airbus, up 4.5 percent, automaker Peugeot-Citroen, up 9.3 percent, and luxury goods giant LVMH, up 7.5 percent. Earnings were mixed in the US, with Dow member Boeing rising 0.8 percent after reporting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, while Coca-Cola sank 3.3 percent as it reported a 5.1 percent fall in second-quarter revenues to $11.5 billion. Molson Coors Brewing sank 5.1 percent on reports that SABMiller paused integration work in advance of its planned merger with brewing giant AB InBev. Molson Coors was set to acquire SABMiller's 58 percent stake in the MillerCoors venture as a component of the $103 billion transaction. US shares of AB InBev lost 3.7 percent, while SABMiller fell 2.4 percent. - Key figures at 2100 GMT - New York - DOW: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 18,472.17 (close) New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,166.58 (close) New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.6 percent at 5,139.81 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 6,750.43 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.7 percent at 10,319.55 points (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 4,446.96 points (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.7 percent at 2,999.48 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 16,664.82 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.4 percent at 22,218.99 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.9 points at 2,990.00 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1062 from $1.0986 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3224 from $1.3132 Dollar/yen: UP at 105.31 yen from 104.64 yen