GLOBAL MARKETS - Indices higher ahead of Christmas

Shares on Wall Street moved higher during early premarket trading on Wednesday ahead of the Christmas holiday. On Thursday, stocks will trade in a shortened Christmas Eve trading session, before closing on Friday for Christmas.
European stock markets opened mixed on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit remained in focus. Several more countries, including Japan, banned travel from the United Kingdom after a new variant of the virus was detected in the country. Meanwhile, UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick warned that "no sufficient progress" has been made in trade talks with the European Union.
Asian markets traded higher on Wednesday after United States President Donald Trump threatened to veto the long-awaited stimulus deal. Trump demanded changes to the $900 billion coronavirus relief package, arguing that stimulus checks should increase from $600 to $2,000.
The Dow was up 0.28 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 0.30 percent. At the same time, the Nasdaq 100 increased 0.15 percent. The euro gained 0.28 percent against the dollar, buying 1.21910.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.30 percent, while the DAX rose 0.43 percent at the opening session. The CAC 40 added 0.15 percent. The euro was up 0.28 percent against the dollar to sell for 1.21897 and the pound jumped 0.58 percent compared to the US currency to go for 1.34396.
The Nikkei 225 closed 0.33 percent in the green in Tokyo, while the Kospi Composite jumped 0.93 percent. Meanwhile in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.51 percent as the Shenzhen Composite advanced 0.60 percent. The Hang Seng gained 0.48 percent. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.66 percent higher.