.....European stocks recovered ... : Germany's DAX gained +1.0 %... France's CAC-40 added +0.8 %....(and) Britain's FTSE 100 rose + 0.6 %....
Wall Street posted modest gains, with the Dow Jones industrial average up + 0.4 % ....and the S&P 500 gaining + 0.4 %....
U.S. government figures showed the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week to 366,000, the lowest level since May 2008.
The euro edged up + 0.2 % to 1.3013 $ ...
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Stocks faced stronger headwinds earlier in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 index shed - 1.7 % to close.., a three-week low. South Korea's Kospi lost -2.1 % ....and Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled -1.8 % ...
Mainland Chinese shares lost ground for a sixth straight trading day, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index falling - 2.1 % , while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost -2.3 % ...
In Japan, confidence at major manufacturers fell over the last quarter. The Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey of business sentiment fell to minus 4. The figure represents the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good minus those saying conditions are unfavorable, with 100 representing the best mood and minus 100 the worst...."
http://news.yahoo.com/global-markets-cautious-over-economic-outlook-171602397.html