Stock market today: World stocks mixed as Wall Street holds steady near record highs

HONG KONG (AP) — Global markets were mixed on Wednesday after U.S. stocks held near their record levels in a quiet day of trading.

France’s CAC 40 edged 0.1% higher in early trading to 7,952.76. Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 17,589.14. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.2% to 7,665.96.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.

In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% lower to 39,208.03.

Shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai sank even after the territory’s financial chief announced a

budget

aimed at boosting tourism and the property industry. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1.5% to 16,536.85, while the Shanghai Composite sank 1.9% to 2,957.85.

China’s largest private property developer, Country Garden, said Wednesday that it is facing a liquidation petition after failing to repay a term loan facility worth 1.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($204.5 million). The first hearing in the case is scheduled for May 17.

The move comes after

China Evergrande

, the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, was ordered to undergo liquidation following a failed effort to restructure $300 billion in late January.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 7,660.40 after the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday the country’s inflation rate held at a two-year low in January, triggering hopes that the Reserve Bank may cut its benchmark interest rate.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 1% to 2,652.29, while Thailand's SET was down 0.8%.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 added 0.2% was just off its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.

Earnings reporting season is winding down for the big companies in the S&P 500, and the hope is that a remarkably solid U.S. economy will help profits grow through this year.

A report Tuesday morning showed orders for long-lasting manufactured goods were weaker last month than economists expected, but they were better than forecast after ignoring airplanes and other transportation items.

A separate report said that

confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly slipped

. Confidence had been on the upswing, and it’s a closely followed figure on Wall Street because consumer spending makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy.

In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 90 cents to $77.97 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 92 cents to $81.74 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 150.76 Japanese yen from 150.51 Japanese yen. The euro fell to $1.0805 from $1.0843.