With much of the world on holiday for May Day, those markets that remained open today were fairly lacklustre, a day after the US Federal Reserve promised to keep interest rates low.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was the only major index open for business and it was trading 0.2 per cent higher at 6,796. It was a similar picture earlier in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei 225 the standout as it closed 1.3 per cent higher at 14,485.13.
Wall Street is open later, and trading is expected to be subdued too, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.1 per cent.
Also Read
Trading is expected to be perkier tomorrow when the US government publishes its closely monitored non farm payrolls report for April.
The figures, which often set the market tone for a week or two after their release, may have a big impact as they come in the wake of significantly lower than expected US economic growth in the first quarter and the Fed's ongoing reduction in its monetary stimulus.
As well as reducing its stimulus by USD 10 billion a month, the Fed pledged to keep short-term interest rates low to support the economy "for a considerable time" after its bond purchases end, likely late this year.
"With most of Europe and Asia on holiday, and April payrolls looming, markets have inevitably been relatively quiet," said Adam Cole, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
The mood was similarly subdued elsewhere, with the euro flat at USD 1.3876 and the dollar steady at 102.29 yen. In the oil markets, a barrel of benchmark crude was down 50 cents at USD 992.5.
