Economic woes weigh on world markets
Concerns about a global recession continue to batter investor sentiment.
LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- European stock markets posted slight gains Wednesday while Asian shares lost ground as recession fears kept investors cautious.
U.S. stock futures, which offer an indication of how Wall Street will open when trading begins in New York, were narrowly higher.
Lower oil prices and bargain hunters helped support markets in the early going in Europe, but stocks pared gains as investors remained glum about the economy and outlook for corporate profits.
In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 and the CAC-40 in France were both up less than 1%. Germany's DAX was about 1% higher.
Economic woes pulled stocks in Asia lower. Japan's Nikkei index fell 1.3%. The KOSPI in Seoul and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong finished the day with more modest losses.
Fears of recession have swept markets worldwide. In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite all dropped about 2%.
"Between the automakers and the financials, bad news continues to dominate," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
Investors remain jittery about financial firms, despite the government's $700 billion rescue plan for the sector. Even a new government and mortgage industry plan to help troubled homeowners wasn't enough to help investors overcome their fears Tuesday.
In commodities trading, oil prices fell below $59 a barrel Wednesday. U.S. crude for December delivery was down 60 cents to $58.73 a barrel, after falling as low as $58.55, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar gained against the yen and slipped versus the euro. 
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