European stock markets closed mixed, declining in Frankfurt on weakness in the banking sector while gaining ground in London on a strong performance by mining and oil issues.
The FTSE 100 ticked up to close nine points (0.16%) higher at 5,702. But the UK benchmark index has lost 11.7% in the first three months of the year - its worse quarter since the third quarter of 2002 and its third consecutive quarter of losses. Index heavyweight Vodafone was the heaviest drag on the index, down almost 2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock and cut its price target.
The Paris CAC closed 11 points higher (0.24%) at 4,707 but the Frankfurt DAX closed down 25 points (0.38%) to end at 6,535.
In Dublin, the ISEQ was 24 points higher for a close of 6,177 (up 0.39%). Anglo Irish Bank lost 3.4% to €8.50, and Kingspan fell 6.5% to €8.45 while Independent News & Media climbed 5% to €2.08 and Smurfit Kappa rose almost 5% to €7.62.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq was up 14 points at 2,275 this afternoon and the Dow Jones was up 60 points at 12,277.
Earlier in Tokyo, the Nikkei closed at 12,526, down 2.3% or 295 points, finishing the country's financial year with its worst quarterly performance since 2001, as investors rushed to take profits and sold big stocks such as Toyota.
The Hang Seng lost 437 points (1.88%) to close at 22,849.
