Global Stocks: U.S. indices decline, Nikkei extends one-month high

U.S. markets closed lower on Tuesday after a mixed set of U.S. data, including soft spending data and disappointing earnings. The DOW JONES index lost -1.65%, closing at 17,387.21. The S&P 500 declined by -1.34% with a final quote of 2,029.55 points. Apple and Yahoo rallied in post-market trading on corporate news.

The consumer confidence index for the U.S. rose to 102.9 in January from 93.1 in December, exceeding expectations for a rise to 94.4. U.S. durable goods orders dropped 3.4% in December, missing expectations for a 0.5% increase, after a 2.1% decline in November. The decline was driven by falling orders for computers, metals and electrical equipment. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index increased 4.3% in November, missing expectations for a 4.5% rise, after a 4.5% gain in October. That was the slowest pace since October 2012.

Today investors look ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee Statement following the FED's interest rate decision at 19:00 GMT.

Chinese stock markets were mixed on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading +0.22% at 24,862.41 points. China's Shanghai Composite closed at 3,306.54 points -1.38%.

Japan's Nikkei rose on Wednesday to one-month highs, closing +0.15% with a final quote of 17,795.73 reversing early losses caused by mixed U.S. data and profit taking. A weaker Japanese yen supported exporter shares.