HONG KONG ? World stocks were mostly lower Thursday, as investors concerned about Europe's debt crisis sought direction ahead of a closely watched auction of Spanish government bonds.
Oil prices hovered above $102 per barrel, while the dollar rose against the yen and the euro.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.9 percent to 5,461.22 while France's CAC-40 fell 1 percent to 3,031.51. Germany's DAX was down 1 percent to 5,851.81.
U.S. stocks were poised to rise. Dow futures were up 0.2 percent to 11,875 while broader S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 percent 1,233.50.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8 percent to close at 18,817.47 while South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.1 percent to end at 1,876.67. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.2 percent to finish at 8,479.63.
Mainland China's benchmark Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 percent to close at 2,463.05 while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to close at 1,060.55.
Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and India fell. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.3 percent to end at 4,258.20.
Europe's sovereign debt crisis is "the big overhang on the market at the moment," said Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray Asia Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.
"Until (investors) see Greece default and then everyone stares at the fallout and realizes that the world isn't ending, or the eurozone comes up with a solid plan that is financed properly ? until one of those two options come out we're not really going to see that overhang move away."
On Thursday, Spain's Treasury auctions up to euro4 billion ($5.4 billion) in 10-year bonds on the primary market in a tough test of market confidence.
Earlier, Asian markets were lackluster, many swinging between gains and losses amid rising interest rates for government bonds issued by the Italian government, which is considered to big to bail out should it default on its debts.
Adding to the concern was a warning Wednesday from Fitch Ratings, one of the big three credit rating agencies, that U.S. banks could be "greatly affected" if Europe's debt crisis spreads beyond the affected countries.
Shares of South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. rose 3.8 percent after a California jury determined it didn't conspire with a rival chip-maker to fix prices to keep Rambus Inc. out of the market.
Scandal-hit Japanese camera and medical equipment maker Olympus Corp. rose 1 percent even after its top shareholder, Nippon Life Insurance, said it was cutting its stake to 5 percent from 8 percent. The stock has lost four-fifths of its value since a scandal erupted over the concealment of huge losses.
Mainland Chinese shares were mixed as investors fretted over the outlook.
"The market could be unstable in the short term due to profit taking after earlier gains and the uncertainty over the economic outlook," said Peng Yunliang, an analyst based in Shanghai, who added that utilities rose on speculation authorities may raise electricity fees due to higher costs.
Huadian Power International Corp. gained 3.1 percent while Guangxi Guiguan Electric Power Co. added 5 percent.
Asian investors were also worried about the financial health of property developers sparked by concerns about sliding prices in China's once-buoyant real estate market, Peng and Sullivan said.
"Housing prices could go even lower, as an IMF report said there are signs of overvaluation in some market segments," said Peng. China Merchants Property Development Co. slipped 0.6 percent while China's second-largest listed property developer, Poly Real Estate, lost 0.4 percent.
Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 23 cents at $102.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $3.22 to settle at $102.59 in New York on Wednesday.
In currencies, the euro weakened to $1.3471 from $1.3512 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar strengthened slightly to 76.96 yen from 76.94 yen.
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AP researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.
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